Frederique Fugue

Yep... 'Fugue the Ferocious.' You'll either end up famous or drinking through a straw for the rest of your life. Dr. Frederique Fugue (also spelled Frederick) was Arthur's piano teacher after Mrs. Cardigan retired in "Arthur Plays the Blues." He is known for being one of the best piano teachers in Elwood City, but also one of the strictest, as he wants his students to play pieces and sing notes perfectly. According to Mrs. Cardigan, he was also a concert pianist.

In a conversation with Binky about lip-syncing during chorus practice, Dr. Fugue remarks that he himself engaged in the practice during his undergraduate days in the Whiffenpoofs. We may infer from this that Dr. Fugue attended Yale University and was active at the campus in the Capella scene.

In "Tipping the Scales" he was the replacement teacher for Ms. Krasny. He taught Mr. Ratburn's Class how to sing In the Good Old Summertime perfectly. They were going to perform in Crown City, but there was a blizzard and the road to Crown City was closed so they stopped at a diner and sang there.

Dr. Fugue owns a cat named Fur Elise. She is an orange tabby cat that appeared in "D.W.'s Furry Freakout." The cat is named after Für Elise, a song by Ludwig van Beethoven. Dr. Fugue also has a parrot named Tosca who is named after Puccini's opera of the same name.

Dr. Fugue is a knitter as said by Binky, it is shown that he still knits for fun and belongs in a knitting club with Mr. Frensky and Rattles, among others, as shown in "Arthur Unravels."

Dr. Fugue is a fan of the television show "Soul Train", as he mentioned in "Arthur Plays the Blues" that Arthur could play his piece, as he had a few minutes before the show started.

Trivia

 * His name is most likely based on the musical term "fugue," a composition with two or more voices or parts.
 * His first name might be a reference to Frédéric Chopin, because a bust of Chopin is shown in Mrs. Cardigan's house, just a few seconds before she tells Arthur about Dr. Fugue.
 * He lives with his mother who's shadow appears sitting upstairs when Arthur first arrives at the house.