Victor Herbert, Irish by birth, moved to Germany when he was eight and came to America when both he and his wife landed gigs with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in New York. Operetta was plainly his strength, and his works in that medium remain his best known. But he soaked up enough of the German tradition (in 1883 he played in a tribute concert to Liszt, with Brahms of all people conducting) to want to write serious music, and he notched several major disasters in that field. That in turn has led to neglect of smaller ...
Read More
Victor Herbert, Irish by birth, moved to Germany when he was eight and came to America when both he and his wife landed gigs with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in New York. Operetta was plainly his strength, and his works in that medium remain his best known. But he soaked up enough of the German tradition (in 1883 he played in a tribute concert to Liszt, with Brahms of all people conducting) to want to write serious music, and he notched several major disasters in that field. That in turn has led to neglect of smaller works like the ones on this album, which contains several gems. No less a figure than Dvorák realized that Herbert wrote effectively for the cello, and the seven pieces for violoncello and string orchestra heard here, even if arranged from earlier cello-and-piano or solo piano works, are delightful pieces that would enlighten any collegiate recital. They were composed in New York in the years after 1900, when Herbert was already gaining renown as a theatrical composer, and they play...
Read Less
Portions of content provided by Rovi Corporation. © 2024 Rovi Corporation.