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American Composers
Rudolf Friml
Rudolf Friml (1879-1972) is best remembered for his romantic 1920s operettas. Born in Prague, where he studied with Dvorak, Friml moved to the United States in 1906 and pursued a career as a concert pianist and composer. Beginning in 1912, he wrote music in different styles for Broadway, and in 1914, he joined Irving Berlin and Victor Herbert as charter members of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). William Everett examines Friml's wide-ranging career within the larger historical contexts of the American operetta, the Indianist movement, Francophilia, Orientalism, and romantic nostalgia. Friml's gift for evoking faraway times and places led to works like Rose Marie, with its Canadian setting, while his use of formulaic Native American motifs produced "Totem Tom Tom" and the popular (and oft-parodied) "Indian Love Call." Friml also created music for films, often based on his popular musicals. Parallel to this stage and screen activity, he composed piano concertos, orchestral works, and piano pieces and songs.
152 pages, Hardcover
First published October 29, 2008
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 1, 2018
As a master of romantic melody Rudolf Friml has no superiors and few peers. His training from his
Prague was of the best, he studied under Anton Dvorak. Maybe because his teacher wrote the New
World Symphony Friml decided to go to the new world to seek fame and fortune. He did around the
turn of the last century migrate to America where he attained a good reputation as a classical pianist.
He never lost interest in the doings of his native land, he rejoiced when it became Czechoslovakia
and wept when it was occupied first by Nazis and then by Communists.
He got his first break as a composer when Victor Herbert who was scheduled to write the music for
The Firefly walked out after a battle with soprano Emma Trentini. She was a role model diva who
liked the opposite sex a lot. Her demands got too much for Herbert who walked out. Friml who had
never written music for a show before got the job. It was a hit with several recognizable songs like
Sympathy and Giannina Mia in the score. Friml also got involved with Trentini, a big scandal in
its day. Rudolf liked the ladies too, he was married four times.
His prime years were the 20s when he was on Broadway with such hits as Rose Marie, The Vagabond King, and The Three Musketeers. Note all of these had French background, his Francophilia was also part of his personal and musical heritage.
Friml was a hard man on his contemporaries. He criticized such newer talents as Kern, Berlin,
Rodgers, and Porter. God only knows what he thought of rock and roll when it came around. He
may have stopped writing for Broadway, but he did write a lot of piano and orchestral pieces over
the years right up to almost when he died in 1972.
In the middle 60s television discovered Rudolf Friml and he became a talk show regular. I remember him being on the Merv Griffin show a few times. He was a character.
Born in 1879 in Prague, Friml died in 1972 in California a relic of theater of bygone years. He never
adapted and said to say like his closest competitor Sigmund Romberg his songs are sadly tied to
some romantic plots that today seem silly. But he wrote some beautiful music which ought to be
listened to as this book, short as it is will give you some good insights into him.
Prague was of the best, he studied under Anton Dvorak. Maybe because his teacher wrote the New
World Symphony Friml decided to go to the new world to seek fame and fortune. He did around the
turn of the last century migrate to America where he attained a good reputation as a classical pianist.
He never lost interest in the doings of his native land, he rejoiced when it became Czechoslovakia
and wept when it was occupied first by Nazis and then by Communists.
He got his first break as a composer when Victor Herbert who was scheduled to write the music for
The Firefly walked out after a battle with soprano Emma Trentini. She was a role model diva who
liked the opposite sex a lot. Her demands got too much for Herbert who walked out. Friml who had
never written music for a show before got the job. It was a hit with several recognizable songs like
Sympathy and Giannina Mia in the score. Friml also got involved with Trentini, a big scandal in
its day. Rudolf liked the ladies too, he was married four times.
His prime years were the 20s when he was on Broadway with such hits as Rose Marie, The Vagabond King, and The Three Musketeers. Note all of these had French background, his Francophilia was also part of his personal and musical heritage.
Friml was a hard man on his contemporaries. He criticized such newer talents as Kern, Berlin,
Rodgers, and Porter. God only knows what he thought of rock and roll when it came around. He
may have stopped writing for Broadway, but he did write a lot of piano and orchestral pieces over
the years right up to almost when he died in 1972.
In the middle 60s television discovered Rudolf Friml and he became a talk show regular. I remember him being on the Merv Griffin show a few times. He was a character.
Born in 1879 in Prague, Friml died in 1972 in California a relic of theater of bygone years. He never
adapted and said to say like his closest competitor Sigmund Romberg his songs are sadly tied to
some romantic plots that today seem silly. But he wrote some beautiful music which ought to be
listened to as this book, short as it is will give you some good insights into him.
Displaying 1 of 1 review