Arthur Fiedler

Bio

Arthur Fiedler (1894–1979) was an American conductor best known for his long tenure as the leader of the Boston Pops Orchestra. Born in Boston, he studied violin and conducting in Europe before joining the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1915. In 1930 he was appointed conductor of the Boston Pops, a position he held for nearly fifty years. Under Fiedler’s direction the Pops became one of the most popular and widely recorded orchestras in the United States, blending classical repertoire with lighter music and Broadway tunes. His outdoor Esplanade concerts on the Charles River drew enormous crowds and helped bring orchestral music to a broad public audience. Fiedler’s recordings, many of which remain in circulation, played a significant role in popularizing symphonic music in mid-twentieth-century America.