Arthur Fiedler
Arthur Fiedler (December 17, 1894 – July 10, 1979)[1] was an American conductor known for his association with both the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops orchestras. With a combination of musicianship and showmanship, he made the Boston Pops one of the best-known orchestras in the United States. Fiedler was sometimes criticized for over-popularizing music, particularly when adapting popular songs or editing portions of the classical repertoire, but he kept performances informal and sometimes self-mocking to attract a bigger audience.
Not to be confused with Arthur Fielder.
Arthur Fiedler
December 17, 1894
Hyde Park, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
July 10, 1979 (aged 84)
Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S.
1915–1979
Death[edit]
In December 1978, Fiedler underwent brain surgery at Tufts Medical Center after suffering congestive heart failure.[14] He recovered two weeks after celebrating his 84th birthday.[15] His final Boston Pops season was in 1979. The season began on May 1 with a concert to mark Fiedler's 50th year as the orchestra's conductor. The works he conducted at that concert include Jacques Offenbach's Overture to La belle Hélène, Gershwin's An American in Paris and Rhapsody in Blue, and Sousa's "The Stars and Stripes Forever". Morton Gould composed a work for the occasion: a march titled "Cheers!". Earl Wild played the piano solo for Rhapsody in Blue.[16] The concert was broadcast on WGBH for its Evening at Pops program.[17] Fiedler made a valedictory appearance on May 5, with James Galway as a flute soloist.[18] He died two months later on July 10 at his Brookline, Massachusetts, home, aged 84.[1] On July 15, the Boston Symphony Orchestra performed a recreation of the July 4, 1976, concert at the Hatch Memorial Shell. It was conducted by the Boston Pops' assistant conductor, Harry Ellis Dickson.[19] Fiedler's funeral service was held at the Memorial Church of Harvard University[20] and his ashes were interred at St. Joseph Cemetery in West Roxbury.[21]
In 1984, Boston honored him with a stylized sculpture, an oversized bust of Fiedler, near the Charles River Esplanade. This area is home to the free concert series that continues through the present day. Composer John Williams succeeded Fiedler as the orchestra's nineteenth conductor. His widow, Ellen Bottomley Fiedler, died October 25, 1984, in Framingham, Massachusetts, at the age of 70.
Fiedler's collection of programs, photographs and personal notes are now housed within the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center of Boston University.[22] The university has a reading room named after him; it contains his personal collection of scores and books.[23]