Henry Louis Reginald De Koven (April 3, 1859January 16, 1920) was an American

music critic '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of m ...

and prolific

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, particularly of

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

Biography

De Koven was born in

Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles (25.749504 km) south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. Middletown is the largest city in the L ...

, and moved to Europe in 1870, where he received the majority of his education. He graduated B.A. from

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

in England in 1880. He undertook piano studies at Stuttgart Conservatory with Wilhelm Speidel,

Sigmund Lebert Sigmund (Zygmunt or Siegmund) Lebert, born Samuel Levi on 12 December 1821 in Ludwigsburg and died on 8 December 1884 in Stuttgart, was a German pianist and music teacher. Lebert was one of the founders of the Stuttgart Music School. With Ludwi ...

, and Dionys Pruckner. He studied composition at

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

with Johann Christian Hauff, and after staying there for six months moved on to

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, Italy, where he studied singing with Luigi Vanuccini. Study in operatic composition followed, first with Richard Genée in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and then with

Léo Delibes Clément Philibert Léo Delibes (; 21 February 1836 – 16 January 1891) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer, best known for his ballets and French opera, operas. His works include the ballets ''Coppélia'' (1870) and ''Sylvia (b ...

in Paris. De Koven returned to the U.S. in 1882 to live in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, and later lived in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He was able to find scope for his wide musical knowledge as a critic with Chicago's ''Evening Post'', ''

Harper's Weekly ''Harper's Weekly, A Journal of Civilization'' was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper (publisher), Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many su ...

'' and ''

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 to 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers as a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under publisher Jo ...

''. Many of his songs became popular, especially "

Oh Promise Me Oh Promise Me is a song with music by Reginald De Koven and lyrics by Clement Scott. The song was written in 1887 and first published in 1889 by G. Schirmer, Inc. as an art song. It is believed that De Koven based the melody of "O Promise Me" par ...

", with words by Clement Scott, which was one of the biggest song successes of its time and remains a wedding standard. Between 1887 and 1913, De Koven composed 20 light operas, in addition to hundreds of songs, orchestral works, sonatas and ballets. While

Victor Herbert Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924) was an American composer, Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor of English and Irish ancestry and German training. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and co ...

's operettas were heavily influenced by those of continental operetta composers, De Koven's works were patterned after

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...

. His greatest success was ''

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

'', which premiered in Chicago in 1890 but was performed all across the country. It played in New York at the Knickerbocker Theatre and in London, in 1891, and at New York's Garden Theatre in 1892, and it continued to be revived for many years. His other operettas included ''The Fencing Master'' (1892, Casino Theatre, New York); '' Rob Roy'', first produced in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, 1894; ''The Highwayman'' (1897, Herald Square Theatre, New York); ''The Little Duchess'' (1901, Casino Theatre, New York); and '' The Beauty Spot'' (1909, Herald Square Theatre). From 1902 to 1904, De Koven conducted the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, symphony. His wife, Anna de Koven, was a well-known socialite, novelist and amateur historian who published her works under the name "Mrs. Reginald de Koven." The music press doubted that De Koven could compose serious operas. His opera '' The Canterbury Pilgrims'' (with a libretto by poet and dramatist Percy MacKaye) premiered at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

in 1917. He composed a second opera, ''Rip Van Winkle'' (also with a libretto by MacKaye), but died before it was performed in 1920 in Chicago. One obituary asserted that he proved that "the American stage was not dependent upon foreign composers."

Works

Selected stage works

*''The Begum'' (1887), operetta, libretto by Harry B. Smith *''

'' (1890) operetta, libretto by Harry B. Smith *''The Fencing Master'' (1892) operetta, libretto by Harry B. Smith *''The Algerian'' (1893) operetta, libretto by Glen MacDonough *'' Rob Roy'' (1894), operetta, libretto by Harry B. Smith *''The Tzigane'' (1895), comic opera, libretto by Harry B. Smith *''The Mandarin'' (1896), operetta, libretto by Harry B. Smith *''The Highwayman'' (1897), operetta, libretto by Harry B. Smith *''The Three Dragoons'' (1899), operetta, libretto by Harry B. Smith *'' The Man in the Moon'' (1899), musical, music by De Koven, Ludwig Englander and Gustave Kerker, book and lyrics by Louis Harrison and Stanislaus Strange *''Papa's Wife'' (1899), musical, lyrics by De Koven, book by Harry B. Smith, lyrics by Smith and De Koven *'' Broadway to Tokio'' (1900), musical, book and lyrics by Louis Harrison and George V. Hobart *''Foxy Quiller (In Corsica)'' (1900), operetta, libretto by Harry B. Smith *'' The Little Duchess'' (1901) musical, book and lyrics by Harry B. Smith *''Maid Marian'' (1902), musical, book and lyrics by Harry B. Smith *'' Red Feather'' (1903), operetta, book by Charles Klein, lyrics by Charles Emerson Cook *'' The Jersey Lily'' (1903), musical, book and lyrics by George V. Hobart *'' Happyland; or, The King of Elysia'' (1905), operetta, libretto by Frederic Ranken *''The Student King'' (1906), operetta, libretto by Frederic Ranken and Stanislaus Stange *''The Golden Butterfly'' (1908), operetta, libretto by Harry B. Smith *'' The Beauty Spot'' (1909), musical, book by Joseph W. Herbert, lyrics by Terry Sullivan *''The Wedding Trip'' (1911), operetta, book by Fred de Gresac, lyrics by Harry B. Smith *'' The Canterbury Pilgrims (De Koven)'' (1916), opera, libretto by Percy MacKaye *''Rip Van Winkle'' (1919), opera, libretto by Percy MacKaye

Other compositions

*Prelude in G minor *Rosalie: Chansonette (1901)

References

External links

*
Reginald De Koven
at the Songwriters Hall of Fame

at the Guide to Light Opera and Operetta * *
Sheet Music for "Oh promise me"
G. Schirmer, Inc., 1889.
Reginald De Koven
sheet music from the Frances G. Spencer American Popular Sheet Music Collection at Baylor University
Reginald De Koven collection at Brandeis University
*
Reginald De Koven recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dekoven, Reginald 1859 births 1920 deaths 19th-century American male musicians 19th-century American classical composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American classical composers American male classical composers American music critics American operetta composers American Romantic composers Classical musicians from Connecticut Male operetta composers New York World People from Middletown, Connecticut