Gustav Luders

German-born American composer (b. December 13, 1865 Bremen, Germany – d. January 24, 1913 in New York, NY, USA). After studying in his native Germany, Luders emigrated to the United States in 1888 and settled at first in Milwaukee, where he led a light opera company and conducted popular orchestras. In 1889, he moved on to Chicago where he directed theater orchestras. He wrote at least 13 operettas, musical comedies and musical plays, often with librettos by Frank Pixley. Their greatest success was "The Prince of Pilsen" (1903). Some of the songs from this operetta, such as "The Tale of the Seashell", "The Message of the Violet", and "The Heidelberg Stein Song", entered the college glee-club repertory. Other successes included musicals like "The Burgomaster" (1900), "King Dodo" (1902), "The Sho-Gun" (1904, with lyrics by George Ade), and "Marcelle" (1908).