Victor Herbert
b. 1 February 1859, Dublin, Eire, d. 26 May 1924, New York, USA. An important composer during the transitional period in the early part of the century when the operetta form was overtaken by American musical comedy. Brought up in the south of England, Herbert studied classical music as a youngster. He played cello in various European symphony orchestras, all the while composing music for the concert platform. In 1885 he accepted a teaching post in Stuttgart where he married an opera singer. The following year he accompanied her on a visit to the USA where he also played, taught and studied. Among Herbert's compositions from his early days in the USA were An American Fantasy. He then began writing operettas, and in 1898 one of the first of them, THE FORTUNE TELLER, became a great success in New York, establishing his reputation. Four years later Herbert became a US citizen. He continued writing classical music and operettas, and, over the next 20 years composed the music for some 30 Broadway shows, including Boys In Toyland(1903), IT HAPPENED IN NORDLAND (1904), Mlle. Modiste(1906), The Red Mill(1906), THE PRIMA DONNA (1908), Naughty Marietta (1910), Sweethearts (1913), PRINCESS PAT (1915), EILEEN (1917), THE VELVET LADY (1919), ORANGE BLOSSOMS (1922), THE DREAM GIRL (1924), and contributed to several editions of the Ziegfeld Follies. The shows contained some of the most memorable and popular songs of the day, including Gypsy Love, Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!, Every Day Is Ladies Day With Me, Eileen, Because You're You, Kiss In The Dark, Kiss Me Again, Italian Street Song, Neapolitan Love Song, Indian Summer, Romany Life, Ah, Sweet Mystery Of Life, Sweethearts, Moonbeams, Yesterthoughts, Thine Alone, and Rose Of The World. His main lyricist collaborators included Rida Johnson Young, Henry Blossom, Buddy De Sylva, Harry B. Smith, Glen MacDonough, Gene Buck, and Robert Smith. Herbert also wrote musical scores for silent films (usually performed only in those motion picture theatres in main urban centres equipped to house a full orchestra) and grand operas. In February 1924 Herbert's A Suite For Serenades was performed by Paul Whiteman's orchestra at a New York concert which also saw the first public performance of George Gershwin's Rhapsody In Blue. Herbert's prolific output was achieved despite ill health but he suffered a fatal heart attack on 26 May 1924.