Walter Julius Fried (August 18, 1877 – August 18, 1925) was an American

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

ist and conductor. He served as both music director and as

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra between 1911 and 1925 and was also one of

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

's leading violin teachers during that period.

Early life and musical education

Fried was born in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, then moved with his family to

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, where he commenced

studies. In 1907, Fried, having already served as head of the violin department of the Milwaukee College of Music for six years, traveled to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

for a year of study with

Mikhail Press Mikhail (Moisej) Isaakovich Press, also known as Michael Press, (russian: Михаил Исаакович Пресс; 29 August 1871, in Vilnius, Lithuania – 22 December 1938, in Lansing, Michigan) was a Russian-American violinist, conductor ...

Career

In 1908, Fried came to

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, where he established a violin-teaching studio. In 1910, he organized a semiprofessional

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

, the

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

Symphony Orchestra, which performed several concerts in Dallas and nearby areas in 1911. During 1911, he renamed the orchestra the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, reviving the name used previously only by a semiprofessional ensemble conducted by Hans Kreissig that existed between 1900 and 1901. As the new DSO's ambitions increased, demanding a higher proportion of professional players, Fried collaborated with a colleague,

Carl Venth Carl Venth (February 16, 1860 – January 29, 1938) was a German-American composer, violinist, conductor, music educator, and scholar. He was a leading classical music figure in Texas in the first half of the twentieth century and was one ...

, who had himself been organizing an orchestral ensemble, to merge the two organizations. The larger group retained the

Dallas Symphony The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Dallas, Texas. Its principal performing venue is the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District of downtown Dallas. History The orchestra traces its origins to a ...

name, and, beginning late in 1911, Venth became the music director, with Fried serving as concertmaster. This group was active until 1914, when economic depression and

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

forced the orchestra to disband. In 1915, Fried was appointed as the head of the violin department at

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , ...

in Dallas, a position he would hold until his death. When the Dallas Symphony resumed operations in 1918, Fried was again music director. The orchestra played for six seasons. In 1924, Fried decreed a

sabbatical year A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work. The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Biblical practice of ''shmita'' (sabbatical year), which is related to agriculture. According to ...

for the entire organization, which he felt would benefit from both artistic and administrative reorganization. Fried was preparing to resume performances with the Dallas Symphony in 1925 when he became seriously ill during a camping trip in Colorado. Walter Fried died in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on his forty-eighth birthday.

Personal

Fried was married to Gladys Wallace, who was herself a highly regarded professional violinist and teacher. Gladys Wallace Fried played violin in the Dallas Symphony, and also served as concertmaster during her husband's final six seasons as music director (1918–1924), and upon Walter's death she took over his position as professor of violin at Southern Methodist University. She was one of Dallas's most esteemed music teachers, and many of her students went on to professional careers in music.

Sources

*"Dallas Symphony Orchestra Will Open Sixth Season at Auditorium Sunday Afternoon." '' Dallas Morning News'', 23 November 1930. *"Kreissig to Singer,—A Symphonic Resume." ''Dallas Morning News'', 16 January 1938. *"Walter J. Fried, Musician, Dies." ''Dallas Morning News'', 19 August 1925. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fried, Walter 1877 births 1925 deaths American classical violinists Male classical violinists American male violinists Concertmasters Texas classical music Conductors (music) from San Francisco Violinists from San Francisco Classical musicians from California