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 101-125 of 863 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor [Pre-matrix B-]1220 10-in. 1/29/1902 The fortune teller : March Kendle's First Regiment Band Band composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix A-]1667 7-in. 10/8/1902 Gypsy love song Herbert Goddard Baritone vocal solo composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix B-]1667 10-in. 10/8/1902 Gypsy love song Herbert Goddard Baritone vocal solo composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix A-]1761 7-in. 11/14/1902 Pan-Americana Clarke's Band of Providence Band composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix B-]1761 10-in. 11/14/1902 Pan-Americana Clarke's Band of Providence Band composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix D-]2031 14-in. 1903 Badinage Victor Grand Concert Band Band composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix C-]2202 12-in. between 1901 and 1903 Baltimore Centennial march Victor Grand Concert Band Band composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix B-]3216 10-in. 3/28/1901 The ameer : March Kendle's First Regiment Band Band composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix B-]3217 10-in. 3/28/1901 March from The fortune teller Kendle's First Regiment Band Band composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix B-]3235 10-in. 4/3/1901 The bride elect : Sextette Sousa's Band Band composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix B-]3315 10-in. 5/3/1901 Just for to-day Harry Macdonough Male vocal solo composer  
Victor B-189 10-in. 7/3/1903 Badinage Royal Italian Marine Band Band composer  
Victor C-211 [Old series] 12-in. 2/9/1903 or 5/26/1903 Selections from the Fortune teller Victor Herbert's Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor A-219 7-in. 8/3/1903 Pan-Americana Clarke's Band of Providence Band composer  
Victor B-219 10-in. 8/3/1903 Pan-Americana Clarke's Band of Providence Band composer  
Victor B-235 10-in. 8/4/1903 Ah! Cupid Clarke's Band of Providence Band composer  
Victor A-264 7-in. 8/13/1903 Serenade waltz Sousa's Band Band composer  
Victor B-264 10-in. 8/13/1903 Serenade waltz Sousa's Band Band composer  
Victor A-326 7-in. 8/20/1903 Punchinello Sousa's Band Band composer  
Victor B-326 10-in. 8/20/1903 Punchinello Sousa's Band Band composer  
Victor A-354 7-in. 8/27/1903 Baltimore Centennial march Sousa's Band Band composer  
Victor B-354 10-in. 8/27/1903 Baltimore Centennial march Sousa's Band Band composer  
Victor C-354 12-in. 8/27/1903 Baltimore Centennial march Sousa's Band Band composer  
Victor A-401 7-in. 9/5/1903 Gypsy love song Henry Higgins ; Walter B. Rogers Cornet duet composer  
Victor B-401 10-in. 9/5/1903 Gypsy love song Henry Higgins ; Walter B. Rogers Cornet duet composer  
(Results 101-125 of 863 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Herbert, Victor," accessed March 29, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102518.

Herbert, Victor. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102518.

"Herbert, Victor." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 29 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

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

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