Arthur Fiedler and The Boston Pops

Best known for his Boston Pops Orchestra recordings, conductor Arthur Fiedler — trademarked by his distinctive white hair and moustache — was a truly great man. Trained as a violinist in Berlin before the first World War, he would rise to fame as a magician of the baton, a maestro who brought great music to the people.

Arthur Fiedler's love of music and life radiates from every piece he conducted, whether it's a symphonic version of Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm," an arrangement of a classic movie tune (like "Moon River" from Breakfast at Tiffany's), or a vigorous march. Try playing "Semper Fidelis" or "Colonel Bogey" without clicking your heels like a trooper.

Arthur Fiedler had a way of transforming outstanding music into great celebration. Take his treatment of the title track from the movie/play Cabaret, originally a reflection of Nazi-era decadence, but in Fiedler's hands an uplifting, tub-thumping good time. Fiedler's "Hello, Dolly!" is pure, lush, romantic escapism.

A Boston native, Arthur Fiedler was born in 1894. By the time of his death in 1979, he had achieved not just local fame but global recognition on par with some of the greatest 20th century classical composers. The majority of the pieces in our Fiedler playlist you'll know already, even if you're not an aficionado of orchestral music, primarily because the great conductor helped weave them into the fabric of our melodic lives.