by the composer in Stuttgart shortly before he came to the U.S. For many years, the work was unpublished and apparently unperformed, surviving only in manuscript. It was recorded for the first time in 1986 and has since been published. The composition is admired for achieving an effective balance between its virtuosic elements and its lyricism. Of his large-scale orchestral works, Herbert's tone poem Hero and Leander (1901) is his most important. Composed for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra while Herbert was their conductor, the work displays an affinity with both Wagner and Liszt. Another important work that Herbert wrote for the PSO is Columbus, Op. 35, a four-movement programmatic suite. The first and final movements of the suite were composed in 1893 as part of a theatrical spectacle intended for the Colombian Exposition in Chicago. However, Herbert never completed that project, and the central two movements were not composed until 1902. The PSO premiered the work in 1903, and it was the last large-scale symphonic work that Herbert composed. Herbert also composed a considerable body of smaller-scale works, often writing music for his own performance on the cello or producing individual songs for the Victor Herbert Orchestra. He published some of his dance music compositions under the pseudonym Noble MacClure. During the last decade of his life, he composed a number of overtures for feature films, although The Fall of a Nation was his only complete film score. On February 12, 1924, Herbert was one of the featured composers at New York's Aeolian Hall, in an evening entitled An Experiment in Modern Music that included the world premiere of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue by the Paul Whiteman orchestra. Herbert's contribution for the evening, A Suite of Serenades, was his last work to premiere with him in attendance. Recordings The following is a list of some of the best-known recordings of Herbert's music. The Music of Victor Herbert, Album C-1, conducted by Nathaniel Shilkret, Victor, 1927 The Music of Victor Herbert, Album C-11, Victor Salon Group and Orchestra, conducted by Shilkret, RCA Victor, 1930 The Music of Victor Herbert, C-33, RCA Victor, conducted by Shilkret with soloists, including Jan Peerce, chorus, and orchestra, RCA Victor, 1939; this was recorded immediately after The Magic Key of RCA radio broadcast of the same music. The Music of Victor Herbert, recorded by Beverly Sills, soprano, and Andre Kostelanetz, conducting, on Angel records SFO-37160