Background

Fiedler was born in Boston on December 17, 1894, to a musical family. His father played violin for the Boston Symphony, and his mother played the piano, though not professionally. So many of his father's ancestors had been violinists in Austria that over the years their surname became Fiedler, the German word for "fiddler. " Not surprisingly, Arthur Fiedler's father determined that his son should continue in the family tradition, and provided him with violin lessons in his childhood.

Education

Fiedler, however, told Stephen Rubin in the New York Times that he did not particularly enjoy either those or the piano lessons he also received. "It was just a chore, something I had to do, like brushing my teeth, " he explained. When his family moved to Berlin, Germany in 1910, Fiedler briefly rebelled against his father's plans for him and became an apprentice at a publishing firm there. He quickly tired of the business, however, and returned to his musical efforts.

While his family was in Europe, Fiedler was fortunate enough to be accepted at Berlin's Royal Academy of Music. Though he concentrated on studying the violin, he also took classes in conducting, which, even then, he liked better.

In 1972, Fiedler was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music.

Career

Fiedler used his violin to support himself, however, by playing in small orchestras and in cafes. He continued in this type of musical job when his family returned to the United States to avoid the dangers of World War I. By 1915 he had won a spot as a second violinist in the Boston Symphony Orchestra, hired by then-conductor Karl Muck.

After a brief period in the U. S. Army—from which he was discharged for having flat feet—Fiedler returned to the Boston Symphony in 1918. For some time he played the viola for the orchestra, and also served as a substitute on many other instruments, including the piano, organ, celesta, and, of course, the violin. He longed to conduct, however, and though he remained with the Boston Symphony, he began conducting smaller musical groups such as the MacDowell Club Orchestra and the Cecilia Society Chorus. With some of his fellow Boston Symphony musicians, Fiedler formed the Boston Sinfonietta, a small chamber orchestra that specialized in performing unusual and little-heard classical compositions. As Richard Freed reported in Stereo Review, the Sinfonietta was "perhaps the only permanently constituted chamber orchestra in the country in the 1930s. " Freed went on to laud its achievements: "The Sinfonietta made the premiere recording of Hindemith's viola concerto Der Schwanendreher, with the composer as soloist. With organist E. Power Biggs there were works of Handel, Corelli, and Mozart. There were the big Mozart Divertimento in B-flat Major, K. 287, and the Wind Serenade in C Minor, K. 388, Telemann's Don Quichotte suite, and such rarities as the marvelous little Christmas Symphony of Gaetano Maria Schiassi and a suite by Esajas Reusner (the latter with the first U. S. recording of the Pachelbel Canon as filler). "

Not content with his many musical activities, Fiedler in 1927 began an effort to gain support for free outdoor concerts. He later told Newsweek: "I believed people should have an opportunity to enjoy fine music without always having to dip into their pockets. " By 1929 Fiedler had his way, and he conducted selected members of the Boston Symphony in the first of what became known as the Esplanade Concerts, on the banks of Boston's Charles River.

The following year, Fiedler became permanent conductor of the Boston Pops, an orchestra drawn from the Boston Symphony for the purpose of performing lighter classical music. At its helm, Fiedler led the group to heights of popularity that had hitherto escaped it. By the end of his first season as the Pops' conductor, he had achieved great personal fame in and around the Boston area. He began recording with the Pops in 1935, and their popularity began to spread to the rest of the United States—and to the rest of the world.

Throughout his lengthy tenure with the Pops, Fiedler was not afraid of innovation. In addition to serving up renditions of lighter classics such as Strauss waltzes, he would often add to his programs versions of Broadway tunes or popular hits of the day. With the Pops, Fiedler made recordings of the songs of George and Ira Gershwin, and was one of the first "serious" musicians to recognize the worth of the Beatles' efforts, successfully featuring some of their songs—including "She Loves You"—in Pops concerts. Shortly before his death from cardiac arrest on July 10, 1979, Fiedler and the Pops made an album of songs from the disco-celebrating film Saturday Night Fever, aptly titled Saturday Night Fiedler. Saal quoted Fiedler about his approach to music selection: "I think the snobs are missing something. There's no boundary line in music, I agree with Rossini: 'All music is good except the boring kind. "' Similarly, a Time reporter recorded more of the conductor's words: "My aim has been to give audiences a good time. I'd have trained seals if people wanted them. "

Though towards the end of his time as leader of the Boston Pops Fiedler's health was poor and he needed the help of assistant conductor Harry Ellis Dickson, he remained active with the group practically up to his death.

Fiedler died on July 10, 1979 after having been in failing health for some time. During the previous winter, he suffered a stroke that temporarily left him unable to speak, but he quickly recovered and in May conducted a concert to celebrate his 50th anniversary as conductor of the Pops. A few days later, he had a mild heart attack after another performance. He collapsed while studying music scores in his Brookline, Massachusetts home and suffered cardiac arrest.

Achievements

• Arthur Fiedler delighted audiences of all ages as conductor of the Boston Pops for fifty years, bringing a mixture of classical music and pop tunes to mass audiences around the world.
  
  After his death, Boston honored him with a stylized sculpture, an oversized bust of Fiedler, near the Charles River Esplanade, and named a footbridge over Storrow Drive after him. This area is home of the free concert series that continues through the present day.
  
  In honor of Fiedler's influence on American music, on October 23, 1976 he was awarded the prestigious University of Pennsylvania Glee Club Award of Merit. Beginning in 1964, this award "established to bring a declaration of appreciation to an individual each year that has made a significant contribution to the world of music and helped to create a climate in which our talents may find valid expression. "
  
  On January 10, 1977, Fiedler was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Gerald Ford.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Arthur Fiedler & The Boston Pops Play the Beatles

    (The best of the Pops' beloved Beatles renditions, includi...)

  • Saturday Night Fiedler (Digitally Remastered)

    (Arthur Fiedler, the long-time conductor of the Boston Pop...)

  • Pops Christmas Party
  • Fiedler & Friends
  • Boston Pops Adagios
  • Sleigh Ride
  • Pops Roundup
  • A Christmas Festival
  • 100 Fiedler Favorites
  • Winter Wonderland

Membership

He was a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary.

Interests

• He was an avid sailor.

Connections

In 1942, Fiedler married Ellen Bottomley, and they had three children: Johanna, Deborah, and Peter.

In 1994, Doubleday published a book written by his daughter, Johanna, titled Arthur Fiedler: Papa, the Pops and Me.

His widow, Ellen Bottomley Fiedler, died October 25, 1984, in Framingham, Massachusetts. She was 70.

Father:

Emanuel Fiedler

Mother:

Johanna Fiedler

Spouse:

Ellen Bottomley

Daughter:

Deborah

Daughter:

Johanna

Son:

Peter

References

• ARTHUR FIEDLER BOSTON POPS by Harry Ellis Dickson (1981-04-28)
• Arthur Fiedler: Papa, the Pops and Me by Johanna Fiedler (1994-09-01)
• Fiedler, the Colorful Mr. Pops: The Man and His Music (Da Capo Press music reprint series) by Moore Robin (1980-06-01) Hardcover