Arthur Fiedler was born into a family of musicians in Brookline, Massachusetts, on December 17. 1894. His father, Emanuel Fiedler, was a violinist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra for 25 years and his mother was an amateur pianist. Many of Fiedler’s ancestors had been violinists in Austria—the surname Fiedler derives from the German for “fiddler.”
Fiedler started school in Boston and began lessons in both the violin and piano, but he had no desire to become a musician. After his father’s retirement, the family moved first to Vienna, then to Berlin. After working briefly in a publishing house, Fiedler decided to return to his music, and auditioned for the Royal Academy of Music of Berlin. There he studied violin with Willy Hess (former concert-master of the Boston Symphony), conducting with Arno Kleffel (formerly of the Cologne Opera House), and chamber music with Hungarian pianist and composer Ernst von Dohnanyi. To support himself, he played in small orchestras and various cafés. He made his debut as a conductor at the age of 17.
At the outbreak of World War I, Fiedler returned to the U.S. and joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra, for which he played second violin. Following a brief spell in the U.S. Army (he was discharged after two weeks for having flat feet), he returned to the orchestra, this time playing the viola. He also substituted on the violin, piano, organ, celesta, and percussion and his versatility earned him the nickname the “floating kidney” among his colleagues. Fiedler’s chief ambition, however, was to be a conductor.
In the 1920s, Fiedler became director of the Cecilia Society Chorus and the MacDowell Club Orchestra, two respected music groups in Boston. In 1924, he formed the Boston Sinfonietta, a chamber orchestra specialising in lesser known classical pieces, and in 1926 he conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra for the first time as a replacement for Agide Jacchia, who had resigned suddenly. Fiedler applied for the permanent position, but it was given to the renowned Italian conductor Alfredo Casella. Casella found that the programming was not to his taste, however, and within three years he had resigned due to artistic differences.
Meanwhile, in 1927 Fiedler had begun pursuing his idea of bringing great music to the public for free. Having obtained sufficient funding, he put on a series of concerts on the Esplanade along the Charles River, playing a programme of popular classics. In the first season, six concerts drew over 208,000 people.
In late January 1930, Fiedler was finally offered the directorship of the Boston Pops Orchestra. For the next half century, he revolutionised the Pops with his gifts for programming and showmanship. He gave the audience what they wanted—operatic overtures, marches, light classics—but this was interwoven with music by Wagner, Chopin, and Mozart. Even entire symphonies were sometimes performed. He was also unafraid of performing new music, especially by American composers. Broadway tunes and popular hits of the day, including BEATLES’ songs, were often found in concert programmes. Fiedler particularly enjoyed his series of morning outdoor concerts for children, which often featured young soloists.
Under Fiedler’s direction, the Pops became popular worldwide. In 1977, he was presented with the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian medal in the U.S., by President Ford. Fiedler died on July 10, 1979, having earned the title of the “father of Pops.”
Esther J. Luo
SEE ALSO:
CHAMBER MUSIC; OPERETTA; ORCHESTRAL MUSIC.
FURTHER READING
Dickson, Harry Ellis. Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1981);
Fiedler, Johanna. Arthur Fiedler: Papa, the Pops, and Me (New York: Doubleday, 1994).
SUGGESTED LISTENING
A Christmas Festival; Fiedler’s Favorite Marches;
Irish Night at the Pops;
Leroy Anderson Favorites; Opera without Singing;
Pops Roundup;
Gershwin: Rhapsody.