Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Van der Stucken, Frank

VAN DER STUCKEN, Frank, musician, b. in Fredricksburg, Tex., 15 Oct., 1858, receiving his musical education at the conservatory of music conducted by Peter Benoit in Antwerp, Holland. He was kapellmeister of the Stadt theatre of Breslau, later giving concerts of his own compositions, in Weimar and elsewhere in Germany, under the patronage of Liszt. Returning to the United States in 1884, be became the leader of the Arion society of New York, conducting novelty concerts in Steinway hall and symphonic concerts in Chickering hall. Mr. Van der Stucken 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 since 1895 has conducted the symphony concerts in Cincinnati, in which city he is the dean of the College of music. His symphonic prologue to Heine's tragedy of &ldquo;William Ratcliff,&rdquo; which was published in Germany in 1899, was performed at one of the concerts of the New York philharmonic society, and it is also on the list of several concert organizations in Germany, including the Berlin philharmonic society.