The Boston Pops Orchestra

For year after year, decade after decade, the Boston Pops were one of the most popular orchestras in America. Through concerts, tours and an endless series of record albums, they brought classical music, marches and contemporary pop to millions of listeners. Over the course of the 20th century, the orchestra was recorded more than any other. They developed a repertoire that functioned as the de facto American classical and pop lexicon. The Boston Pops were populists, emphasizing melody and texture instead of somber, challenging classical pieces. This direction was devised by Henry Lee Higginson, who formed the prototype of the Pops in 1885. The orchestra remained a popular local attraction for the first three decades of the 1900s, but it became nationally famous when Arthur Fiedler was appointed as conductor in 1930. Over the next five decades, he perfected a friendly, accessible sound that emphasized familiar classical pieces with popular tunes, marches and excerpts from film and Broadway scores. By the time John Williams took over for Fiedler in 1980, the Boston Pops were internationally known, but Williams took great steps to ensure that the outfit remain contemporary, frequently adding new pieces to their repertoire. Williams stayed with the outfit until 1995, when he passed the mantle on to Keith Lockhart. In all three incarnations, the basic sound of the Boston Pops remained unchanged, and the orchestra retained its popularity throughout shifting musical tastes. The formula for the Boston Pops was unwittingly devised by Henry Lee Higginson, the founder of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. On July 11, 1885, Higginson gave the first Music Hall Promenade Concert, where the program consisted of "light music of the best class." He had based the program on garden concerts...