Faà di Bruno, Giovanni Matteo [Horatio, Orazio] Fabbri, Anna Maria

Fischer, Carl.

Fischer pursued a dual objective, both publishing music and selling instruments, music and methods (most of which were imported from Europe). Endeavouring to provide music suited to the tastes and styles of the period, he responded to the growing interest in band music and became the principal publisher of such figures as Arthur Pryor, John Philip Sousa and Henry Fillmore. Publication of The Metronome, a journal for bandleaders, was begun in 1885 and the firm still prides itself on its extensive band catalogue.

The field of school music received particular impetus under the leadership of Walter S. Fischer, who succeeded his father as president in 1923 (at which time the firm moved to its present 12-storey structure at 56–62 Cooper Square). The firm had always published the standard repertory of choral and orchestral music, and in 1907 began an invaluable monthly journal for professional musicians and music teachers, the Musical Observer (incorporated into the Musical Courier in 1931); it was to make important contributions with its accessible arrangements and easy methods (to replace the standard manuals). Leading instrumental performers provided arrangements of classical and contemporary works that have become standard material for concerts, recitals and masterclasses; Gustave Reeve was director of publications 1945–55.

In 1946 Frank H. Connor succeeded his father-in-law as president. He continued the founder’s policies by publishing an increasing number of new works, and giving encouragement to young composers. In the 1960s the firm participated in the Contemporary Music Project, sponsored by the Ford Foundation, and other similar undertakings, as well as the Ford Foundation’s subsequent Recording-Publication Project which encouraged collaboration between publishers and recording companies in the cause of contemporary music.

Composers represented by Carl Fischer, Inc. include Norman Dello Joio, Lukas Foss, Karl Kohn, John La Montaine, Peter Mennin, Douglas Moore, Randall Thompson and Virgil Thomson. Among the most important items in the Fischer catalogue are the Coopersmith edition of Messiah and the more recent addition of several early works by Webern.

Frank Hayden Connor died in 1977 and was succeeded by his son, Walter Fischer Connor, who became President and Chairman of the Board. During his tenure, Fischer expanded its retail sales in New York and through branch offices in Chicago and Boston. Connor was also Chairman of Boosey & Hawkes which Fischer acquired in 1986. After Connor’s death in 1996 Charles Abry, the great-grandson of the firm’s founder, was chosen as the new President. Under his leadership the firm continues to maintain its large diversified catalogue that includes educational literature as well as concert music, while expanding its horizons with new acquisitions such as Band Music Press.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

W. THOMAS MARROCCO, MARK JACOBS/GEORGE BOZIWICK