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. Serenade (Drdla) Frederic Persson (p) Brunswick 2728 B103-B105 9-24-1924 New York
2. Serenade (Toselli) Arthur Jones (harp) Brunswick 2496 10668-10670 5-16-1923 New York
3. Silent night (Gruber) Florence Easton (soprano) Brunswick 10046 6422-6424 September 1921 New York
4. Sleepy time gal (Lorenzo-Whiting) Dan Lieberfeld (piano) Brunswick 2987 E16880-E16882 11-12-1925 New York
5. Sometime (Fiorito) Dan Lieberfeld (piano) Brunswick 2987 E17019-E17021 1-23-1925 New York
6. Songs my mother taught me (Dvorak) Florence Easton (soprano) Brunswick 15066 12305-12306 11-6 1924 New York
7. Student prince. Deep in my heart, dear (Romberg) Brunswick 2860 15321-15323 3-27-1925 New York
8. Swedish lullaby (arr. Raucheisen) Sigrid Onégin (contralto) and Franz Dorfmueller (piano) Brunswick 15137 XE18392-XE18394 3-12-1926 New York
9. The last rose of summer (Moore-Auer) Dan Lieberfeld (piano) Brunswick 3121 E18134-E18136 2-27-1926 New York
10. The love waltz (Brennan-Jacquet) Brunswick 3514 E22092-E22094 3-24-1927 New York
11. The magic of moonlight and love from Natja Brunswick 2860 15318-15320 3-27-1925 New York
12. The moon drops low (Eberhart-Cadman) Brunswick 10228 E18160-E18161 Karin Branzell (mezzo-soprano) 3-2-1926 New York
13. The swan (Saint-Saëns) Karl Reuter (violin) Brunswick 4528 E29225 February 1929 New York
14. Three o’clock in the morning (Robledo) Brunswick 2322 8605 August 1922 New York
15. Un peu d’amour (Silésu-Fradkin) Brunswick 4071 E27547 5-15-1928 New York
16. Valse bluett (Drigo-Auer) Frederic Persson (p) Brunswick 2593 12656 3-7-1924 New York
17. Voi ed io (De Curtis) Giuseppe Danise (Baritone) Brunswick 15028 8995-8997 October 1922 New York
18. What does it matter (Berlin) Brunswick 3467 E21498-E21500 2-14-1927 New York
19. Will that dear one be you (Schuler) Mario Chamlee (tenor) Brunswick 10217 E17723-E17725 1-28 -1926 New York
20. Xerxes (Handel) Largo Marie Tiffany (soprano) Brunswick 35004 X10170-X10171 3-23-1923 New York