Rudolf Friml

From Wind Repertory Project
Rudolf Friml

Biography

Carl Rudolf Friml (7 December 1869, Prague, Bohemia – 12 November 1972, Hollywood, Calif.) was a Czech-born composer of operettas, musicals, songs and piano pieces, as well as a pianist.

Friml showed aptitude for music at an early age. He entered the Prague Conservatory in 1895, where he studied the piano and composition with Antonín Dvořák. Friml was expelled from the conservatory in 1901 for performing without permission. In Prague and later in America he composed and published songs, piano pieces and other music, including the prize-winning set of songs, Pisne Zavisovy. He then became an accompanist to Jan Kubelik, the noted violinist with whom he toured in Austria, England, Germany, and Russia. They also toured throughout the United States in 1900 and again in 1906. After the 1906 tour, Friml remained in the United States, where he performed many piano recitals and appeared as piano soloist with many of the major American symphony orchestras.

As a composer, Friml is noted mainly for his Broadway musicals, starting in 1912 with the operetta The Firefly. Rose Marie and The Vagabond King were his most successful contemporary productions. Among his most popular songs is Indian Love Call. He also wrote music for films, such as Northwest Outpost, and several works for piano. Rather than trying to adapt to popular taste, Friml decided to focus on playing the piano in concert and composing art music, which he did into his nineties. He was one of the original inductees into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame.


Works for Winds


Resources

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