Born this date: Arthur Fiedler

Arthur Fiedler (December 17, 1894 – July 10, 1979) was the long-time conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, a symphony orchestra that specializes in popular and light classical music. With a combination of musicianship and showmanship, he made the Pops one of the best-known orchestras in the country. Some criticized him for watering down music, particularly when adapting popular songs or edited portions of the classical repertoire, but Fiedler deliberately kept performances informal, light, and often self-mocking to attract more listeners.

Fiedler was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His father was an Austrian-born violinist who played in the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and his mother was a pianist and musician. He grew up in Boston, and attended Boston Latin School until his father retired and returned to Austria, where he studied and worked until returning to Boston at the start of World War I.

In 1924, Fiedler formed the Boston Sinfonietta, a chamber music orchestra made up of Boston Symphony members, and started a series of free outdoor concerts.

He was appointed the eighteenth conductor of the Boston Pops in 1930. While the position of conductor of the Pops both prior to and after Fiedler tended to be a segment of a conductor's career, Fiedler made the Pops his life's work, holding the position for a half-century.

Under Fiedler's direction, the Boston Pops reportedly made more recordings than any other orchestra in the world. Besides recording light classics, Fiedler also recorded music from Broadway shows and Hollywood film scores, as well as arrangements of popular music, especially the Beatles. He and the Boston Pops occasionally recorded classical works that were favorites, but not considered as "light" as most of the pieces that he conducted. He made but a single recording with the Boston Symphony Orchestra: Dvorak's New World Symphony. There were also recordings of chamber music by his Sinfonietta.

Fiedler died in Brookline, Massachusetts, at the age of 84 on July 10, 1979. He had been in failing health for some time, and had actually suffered a heart attack after a performance on Saturday evening, May 5, 1979. He was in his 50th year as conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra when he died. 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. John Williams took the post for the following year, and was succeeded by the BSO present day Conductor, Keith Lockhart.

Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops - Sleigh Ride