Frank Van der Stucken

Frank Valentine Van der Stucken (October 15, 1858 – August 16, 1929) was an American composer and conductor, and founder of the Cincinnati Symphony in 1895.

Biography

Van der Stucken was born in Fredericksburg, Texas, to Frank and Sophie (née Schönewolf) Van der Stucken. He lived in Europe from 1866 to 1884. He studied at the Conservatory of Music at Antwerp under Peter Benoit from 1875 to 1879, and at Leipzig from 1879 to 1881. He was kapellmeister of the Stadt Theater, Breslau, Germany, in 1882, later giving concerts of his own compositions, in Weimar and elsewhere in Germany, under the patronage of Liszt.^[1]

Later years

He returned to the United States in 1884, and became the leader of the Arion Society of New York City, conducting novelty concerts in Steinway hall and symphonic concerts in Chickering hall. He gave a series of American concerts at the Paris exposition of 1889, made a concert tour in Europe with the Arion Society in 1892, and after 1895 conducted the symphony concerts in Cincinnati, in which city he was the dean of the college of music. He is particularly remembered for his symphonic prologue to Heinrich Heine's tragedy William Ratcliffe. He was elected an honorary member of the Eta Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity in 1906. He died in Hamburg, Germany at then age of 70.

References

Further reading

• Larry Wolz. "Van der Stucken, Frank Valentine". Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved 2007-09-13. 
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Wilson, James Grant; Fiske, John, eds. (1900). "Van der Stucken, Frank". Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton. 

External links

• Free scores by Frank Van der Stucken at the International Music Score Library Project
• Sheet Music for "O come with me in the summer-night", written by Frank Van der Stucken, Harold Flammer, Inc., 1907.