Victor Herbert

Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924) was an American composer, cellist and conductor of English and Irish ancestry and German training. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is best known for composing many successful operettas that premiered on Broadway from the 1890s to World War I. He was also prominent among the Tin Pan Alley composers and was later a founder of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). A prolific composer, Herbert produced two operas, a cantata, 43 operettas, incidental music to 10 plays, 31 compositions for orchestra, nine band compositions, nine cello compositions, five violin compositions with piano or orchestra, 22 piano compositions and numerous songs, choral compositions and orchestrations of works by other composers, among other music.

In the early 1880s, Herbert began a career as a cellist in Vienna and Stuttgart, during which he began to compose orchestral music. Herbert and his opera singer wife, Therese Förster, moved to the U.S. in 1886 when both were engaged by the Metropolitan Opera. In the U.S., Herbert continued his performing career, while also teaching at the National Conservatory of Music, conducting and composing. His most notable instrumental compositions were his Cello Concerto No. 2 in E minor, Op. 30 (1894), which entered the standard repertoire, and his Auditorium Festival March (1901). He conducted the Pittsburgh Symphony from 1898 to 1904 and then founded the Victor Herbert Orchestra, which he conducted throughout the rest of his life.

Herbert began to compose operettas in 1894, producing several successes, including The Serenade (1897) and The Fortune Teller (1898). Some of the operettas that he wrote after the turn of the 20th century were even more successful: Babes in Toyland (1903), Mlle. Modiste (1905), The Red Mill (1906), Naughty Marietta (1910), Sweethearts (1913) and Eileen (1917). After World War I, with the change of popular musical tastes, Herbert began to compose musicals and contributed music to other composers' shows. While some of these were well-received, he never again achieved the level of success that he had enjoyed with his most popular operettas.

Birth and Death Data: Born February 1, 1859 (Dublin), Died May 24, 1924 (New York City)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1896 - 1950

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, conductor, arranger, cello, orchestrator

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 26-50 of 863 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Berliner 8017 7-in. Before Apr. 1899 The President’s march Victor Herbert’s 22nd Regiment Band Band composer  
Berliner 8018 7-in. Before Apr. 1899 Ocean breezes Victor Herbert’s 22nd Regiment Band Band composer  
Berliner 8019 7-in. Before Apr. 1899 The serenade : March Victor Herbert’s 22nd Regiment Band Band composer  
Berliner 8020 7-in. Before Apr. 1899 The American girl Victor Herbert’s 22nd Regiment Band Band composer  
Berliner 8021 7-in. Before Apr. 1899 The serenade : Selection Victor Herbert’s 22nd Regiment Band Band composer  
Berliner 085 7-in. 4/23/1899 The serenade march Vess L. Ossman Banjo solo composer  
Berliner 0184 7-in. 6/7/1899 The fortune teller : March Sousa's Band Band composer  
Berliner 0185 7-in. June 1899 The fortune teller : Waltz and march Sousa's Band Band composer  
Berliner 0186 7-in. June 1899 The fortune teller : Selection Sousa's Band Band composer  
Berliner 0217 7-in. Before June 1900 Gypsy love song Simone Mantia Euphonium solo composer  
Berliner 0234 7-in. June 1899 The ameer : March Banda Militar Band composer  
Berliner 0243 7-in. 6/8/1899 The serenade : Waltz Sousa's Band Band composer  
Berliner 0282 7-in. 6/16/1899 Gypsy love song Arthur Pryor Trombone solo composer  
Berliner 0694 7-in. 10/14/1899 The fortune teller : March Cullen and Collins Banjo duet composer  
Berliner 0743 7-in. 11/18/1899 I'd like it S. H. Dudley Male vocal solo composer  
Berliner 0746 7-in. 11/18/1899 Song of the nose S. H. Dudley Male vocal solo composer  
Berliner 0747 7-in. 11/18/1899 Continuous performances S. H. Dudley Male vocal solo composer  
Berliner 0751 7-in. 11/21/1899 Ah! Cupid Herbert L. Clarke Cornet solo composer  
Berliner 0760 7-in. 11/22/1899 Love is a tyrant Albert Campbell Male vocal solo composer  
Berliner 0766 7-in. 11/25/1899 The singing girl : Mazurka Metropolitan Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Berliner 0777 7-in. 12/1/1899 Cupid will guide George Schweinfest Flute solo composer  
Berliner 0780 7-in. Dec. 1899 Love is a tyrant George Schweinfest Piccolo solo composer  
Berliner 0791 7-in. 12/8/1899 Love is a tyrant Florence Hayward Female vocal solo composer  
Berliner 0795 7-in. Nov. 1899-Jan. 1900 Love is a tyrant Harry Macdonough Male vocal solo composer  
Berliner 0796 7-in. Nov. 1899-Jan. 1900 Fond love, true love Harry Macdonough Male vocal solo composer  
(Results 26-50 of 863 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Herbert, Victor," accessed March 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102518.

Herbert, Victor. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102518.

"Herbert, Victor." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102518

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