Frank Van Der Stucken -- Pioneer Garden, Fredericksburg TX
N 30° 16.595 W 098° 52.348
14R E 512266 N 3349440
A handsome bronze bust and red granite monument to Frank Van Der Stucken, whose boyhood home is a historic landmark in town, at The Pioneer Garden in Fredericksburg TX
Waymark Code: WMQR68
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 03/22/2016
Views: 11
This handsome bronze bust and plaque on a block of Texas red granite proclaims the accomplishments of Fredericksburg's native son Frank Van Der Stucken, at the Pioneer Garden in the Marktplatz Park.
This bust is made of bronze and juts out of a natural unpolished red granite boulder. A reproduction of Van Der Stucken's signature is excised into the rock at an angle.
Van Der Stucken is wearing what looks to us like white tie and tails -- clothing he might wear during an appearance that was bot as formal as when conducting his orchestra. He wears a furling collar and tie, with a vest and jacket. His tie is tucked neatly into his vest. His clothing and a hairstyle seem appropriate to the 1910s. We think his age in the bust is approximately mid-50s.
The plaque reads as follows:
"FRANK VALENTIN VAN DER STUCKEN
(1858-1929)
…. Was born in Fredericksburg, Texas on October 15, 1858. Anxiety about the Civil War caused the family to return to their native city of Antwerp, Belgium. There, young Frank studied music under Masters and made his first public debut of his own compositions at age 16.
In 1883 Franz Liszt sponsored a special concert of Van Der Stucken’s work in the famous Ducal Theater of Weimar, Germany. Van Der Stucken returned to America in 1884 as director of the Arion Society Chorus of New York City and as an instructor at the National Conservatory. He then became the founder and director of the Cincinnati Symphony and Dean of the Cincinnati College of Music.
In 1928 his 70th birthday was celebrated in Fredericksburg, Cincinnati, and New York City. He and his wife, Maria Vollmer, retired in Homburg, Germany. He died August 16, 1929, and is buried with his family in the Ohlsdorfer Cemetery in Hamburg.
Erected in celebration of Van Der Stucken’s 140th birthday by the friends of Van Der Stucken, October 23, 1998. Sculptor: Russ Thayer of Fredericksburg."
Visit Instructions:
You must have visited the site in person, not online.