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Friml, (Charles) Rudolf
Friml, [Charles] Rudolf (1879–1972), composer. Born in Bohemia into a poor but musical family, he displayed remarkable abilities so early that his neighbors took up a collection to send him to the Prague Conservatory. While there, he eventually won a scholarship and studied with Antonin Dvorák. After graduating he began to compose but, in order to support himself, accepted a position as violinist Jan Kubelik's accompanist. Friml made two trips to America with Kubelik, on the second journey electing to remain permanently. Here he continued to give concerts and write light compositions. His chance came when Victor Herbert refused to create a second score for Emma Trentini after fighting with her over Naughty Marietta. Friml's score for the Trentini vehicle, The Firefly (1912), established Friml immediately in the front rank of composers, and he followed it with High Jinks (1913) and Katinka (1915). Several subsequent operettas were less successful, so Friml tried his hand at musical comedies. Some of these enjoyed profitable runs but left behind nothing memorable. In 1924 he returned to operetta and wrote his greatest success, Rose‐Marie, the most popular operetta of the 1920s. Two operetta hits followed: The Vagabond King (1925) and The Three Musketeers (1928). Friml's principal competitor during the 1920s was Sigmund Romberg. Although Friml's music was generally perceived to have more melodic originality and fervor, it was Romberg who proved more pliable when musical tastes changed in the 1930s. Friml wrote only two short‐lived operettas at the time, Luana (1930) and Music Hath Charms (1934), then retired.
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Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Friml, (Charles) Rudolf." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Friml, (Charles) Rudolf." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-FrimlCharlesRudolf.html Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Friml, (Charles) Rudolf." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-FrimlCharlesRudolf.html |
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Rudolf Friml
Rudolf Friml (Charles Rudolf Friml) , 1879–1972, American composer, b. Prague. Friml lived in the United States after 1906. The best-known of his 33 light operas are The Firefly (1912), Rose Marie (1924), and The Vagabond King (1925). Friml's operettas generally concerned gallants and princesses moving through fairy-tale complexities of plot. Presented on stage, on Broadway and in road companies and revived in film versions, his operettas succumbed to the change in musical tastes by the late 1940s. |
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Cite this article
"Rudolf Friml." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Rudolf Friml." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Friml-Ru.html "Rudolf Friml." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Friml-Ru.html |
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Friml, Rudolf
Friml, Rudolf (b Prague, 1879; d Hollywood, 1972). Cz. composer who settled in USA 1906. First visited USA 1901 as pianist with Jan Kubelik. Played his pf. conc. with NYSO and comp. pf. works and chamber mus. Fame rests on series of popular operettas: The Firefly (1912); Katinka (1915); Rose Marie (1924); and The Vagabond King (1925). His popular ‘Donkey Serenade’ was added to The Firefly when it was filmed in 1937.
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Cite this article
MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "Friml, Rudolf." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "Friml, Rudolf." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-FrimlRudolf.html MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "Friml, Rudolf." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-FrimlRudolf.html |
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