Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924) was an
Irish-born, German-raised American
composer,
cellist and
conductor. 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.