Victor Herbert, Son of Dublin tells the story of the life and work of the composer Victor Herbert, whose works dominated Broadway in the early years of the 20^th century.

First broadcast on Sunday 27th January 2019 on RTÉ lyric fm.

Victor Herbert was of the most prolific and highly regarded composers of light classical music in the late 19^th and early 20^th century. We might call him the Andrew Lloyd Webber of his day, and although he declared himself a proud Irishman all his life, his name is practically unknown in Ireland.

In this programme musician Guy Livingston tells the story of the life and work of Victor Herbert. He meets Alyce Mott of the Victor Herbert Renaissance Project Live in New York to hear about her passion for Herbert’s music. In Ireland, conductor David Brophy talks about recording Herbert’s work ‘Eileen’ for CD, while cellist William Butt demonstrates some of Herbert’s cello music and admires his skill both as a player and composer for the instrument. US historian Marion Casey tells Guy more about Herbert’s family background and Irish identity, revealing that the story is not quite as straightforward as it might seem.

The programme is richly illustrated with the music of Herbert throughout, from his light opera, to works for cello and orchestra.

Victor Herbert, Son of Dublin is a Rockfinch Production for RTÉ lyric fm, funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland from the Television Licence Fee.

Presented by Guy Livingston.

Produced by Guy Livingston and Claire Cunningham. Sound supervision by Tinpot Productions.

This programme won silver at the 2019 New York Festivals Radio Awards in the ‘biography/profiles’ category.