Description

FREDERIC FRADKIN (TROY, NEW YORK, APRIL 24, 1892 – NEW YORK CITY, OCTOBER 3, 1963)

 

 

 

 

Born into a Jewish family that immigrated to the United States from Russia, he studied with Henry Schradik from the age of five, then with Sam Franco, Leopold Lichtenberg, and Max Bendix, and made his orchestral debut at the age of nine. From 1908 to 1910, he studied at the Paris Conservatory with Narcisse-Augustin Lefort. In 1911, he took lessons with Eugène Ysaÿe. That same year, he made his debut at Carnegie Hall with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under Gustav Mahler.

He played briefly in the orchestras of Bordeaux and Monte Carlo, and in 1912 in the orchestra of the Vienna Concert Society. He then returned to the United States, where in 1914–1915 he was concertmaster of the Russian Symphony Orchestra of Modest Altschuler. In 1916, he was concertmaster of the orchestra under Pierre Monteux, which accompanied the American tour of Diaghilev’s Russian Ballets Russes. In 1918–1920, he was concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

In March 1920, as a result of a conflict between Fradkin and the orchestra’s leader, Monteux, a strike of orchestra players took place, demanding the creation of a trade union; the demands remained unfulfilled, and 32 musicians, including Fradkin, left the orchestra.

From 1922 to 1924, Fradkin was concertmaster of the New York Metropolitan Orchestra, which performed primarily theatrical music. On February 19, 1924, he again gave a solo concert at Carnegie Hall, performing a sonata by Giuseppe Tartini and a concerto by Felix Mendelssohn. He then led a small salon orchestra and worked in radio, composing and recording music for plays (including the well-known radio series “The Adventures of a Thin Man”). In his later years, he retired from music and opened a restaurant in New York.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. A kiss in the dark (Herbert) Brunswick 2342 9422-9423 December 1922 New York
2. Ave Maria (Bach-Gounod) Florence Easton (soprano), Frank La Forge (organ) and Arthur Jones (harp) Brunswick 50025 X10819-X10821 6-8-1923 New York
3. Berceuse (De Grassi) Frederic Persson (p) Brunswick 2409 10151-10153 3-19-1923 New York
4. Chansonette (Bass) Frederic Persson (p) Brunswick 2496 10671-10673 5-16-1923 New York
5. Charmaine (White) Brunswick 3581 E23738-E23741 6-24-1927 New York
6. Cherie, I love you (Goodman) Brunswick 3467 E21501-E21502 2-14-1927 New York
7. Du bist wie eine Blume (Cantor) Elisabeth Rethberg (soprano) and Dan Lieberfeld (piano) Brunswick 15148 E19583-E19584 6-16-1926 New York
8. Frasquita (Lehár-Kreisler) Dan Lieberfeld (piano) Brunswick 4528 E29687 April 1929 New York
9. Gypsy love song Canción gitana de amor from Fortune teller (Herbert) Brunswick 2972 E16921-E16923 11-18-1925 New York
10. I love you so (Robison) Brunswick 10217 E17720-E17722 1-28-1926 New York
11. Jalousie Eifersucht Celos (Gade) Brunswick 4071 E27548 5-15-1928 New York
12. Kiss me again (Herbert) Brunswick 2279 8094 May 1922 New York
13. Lovely Lucerne (Godin) Brunswick 2322 8603 August 1922 New York
14. Melody (Gates Dawes) Frederic Persson (p) Brunswick 2728 B106-B108 9-24-1924 New York
15. My buddy (Donaldson) Brunswick 2342 9420-9421 December 1922 New York
16. Nola (Arndt) Frederic Persson (p) Brunswick 2409 10148-10150 3-19-1923 New York
17. Panis angelicus (Franck) Giuseppe Danise (baritone) Brunswick 30109 X12498-X12499 2-8-1924 New York
18. Roses of Picardy (Wood) Brunswick 2279 8092 May 1922 New York
19. Russian lullaby (Berlin) Brunswick 3575 E23437-E23440 6-3-1927 New York
20. Schön Rosmarin (Kreisler) Dan Lieberfeld (piano) Brunswick 3121 E18137-E18139 2-27-1926 New York