Frederick Stock (1872 - 1942) was a U.S. (German-born) conductor and composer. Stock was born in Julich, Germany on Noevember 11, 1872. As a youth, Stock was given his early musical education by his army bandmaster father. At the age of fourteen, Frederick Stock was admitted into the Cologne Conservatory as a student of violin and composition, where he counted Engelbert Humperdinck as one of his teachers, and Willem Mengelberg among his classmates. After graduating from the conservatory in 1890, Stock was accepted to the Municipal Orchestra of Cologne as a violinist. In 1895, Stock met with Theodore Thomas, director of the then fledgling Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the man who was to have a decisive impact on Stock's future. Thomas, who was then visiting Germany in search of recruits for his Chicago Symphony, auditioned Stock and gave him a position as violist in the orchestra. Thomas soon realized, however, that his new violist was also a very talented conductor and in 1899, Stock was promoted to assistant conductor. After Theodore Thomas' sudden death in 1905, Frederick Stock took over the post of Music Director of the Chicago Symphony. At first filling in the position only on a temporary basis, Frederick Stock finally assumed the role of permanent Music Director in 1911 only after the Chicago Symphony's board of directors failed to persuade Mahler, Hans Richter, Felix Weingartner, Karl Muck, and Felix Mottl, among others, to take over the position. 1872 (MDCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America, the States, or (archaically) Columbia—is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in central North America (with the exception of two states: Alaska and Hawaii). ... For the pop singer of this name, see Engelbert Humperdinck (singer) Engelbert Humperdinck (September 1, 1854 – September 27, 1921) was a German composer, best known for his opera, Hänsel und Gretel (1893). ... Willem Mengelberg (March 28, 1871 – March 22, 1951) was a Dutch conductor who was the principal conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra from 1895 to 1945. ... Theodore Thomas (October 11, 1835–January 4, 1905) was a German-American musician and conductor. ... The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, based in Chicago, Illinois, is one of the leading orchestras in the world. ... Theodore Thomas (October 11, 1835–January 4, 1905) was a German-American musician and conductor. ... Mahler refers to: Gustav Mahler, Bohemian-Austrian composer and conductor Alma Maria Mahler-Werfel, or Alma Maria Schindler-Mahler David Mahler, composer Halfdan T. Mahler, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) from 1973 to 1988 Hedwig Courths-Mahler, author Kurt Mahler, Professor of Mathematics Margaret Mahler, or Margit... Hans Richter was a Dadaist artist, filmmaker and writer. ... Felix Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg (June 2, 1863 – May 7, 1942) was a conductor, composer and pianist. ... Karl Muck (1859 - 1940) was a German conductor. ... Felix Mottl (1856-1911) was an Austrian conductor and composer. ...

Under Stock's direction, the Chicago Symphony became one of America's top orchestras, developing a distinctive brass sound that can already be heard in the orchestra's first recordings. An enthusiast of modern music, Stock championed the works of many then modern composers including Mahler, Richard Strauss, Stravinsky, Prokofiev (whose Third Piano Concerto was given its world premiere in Chicago with the composer at the piano), Holst, Kodaly (whose Concerto for Orchestra was commissioned by Stock), Myaskovsky, Suk, Walton, Benjamin, Enesco, and many others. In 1916 the Chicago Symphony, under Stock's baton, made its first set of recordings for the Columbia label. In fact, these recordings were the first ever made by an American orchestra under its music director. The orchestra would later record for RCA Victor, then go back to Columbia, only to finally go back to RCA Victor in 1941-1942 for its final series of recordings under Stock. Stock's last studio recording, Chausson's Symphony in B minor, was released posthumously in 1942. Mahler refers to: Gustav Mahler, Bohemian-Austrian composer and conductor Alma Maria Mahler-Werfel, or Alma Maria Schindler-Mahler David Mahler, composer Halfdan T. Mahler, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) from 1973 to 1988 Hedwig Courths-Mahler, author Kurt Mahler, Professor of Mathematics Margaret Mahler, or Margit... Richard Strauss (June 11, 1864 – September 8, 1949) was a German composer of the late Romantic era, particularly noted for his tone poems and operas. ... Igor Fyodorovitch Stravinsky () (June 17, 1882 – April 6, 1971) was a composer of modern classical music. ... Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev (Серге́й Серге́евич Проко́фьев) (April 271, 1891 – March 5, 1953) was one of the Soviet Unions greatest composers. ... Holst may be: Adriaan Roland Holst (1888 - 1976), Dutch writer Gustav Holst (1874 - 1934), British composer Imogen Holst (1907 - 1984), British conductor, composer and writer, daughter of Gustav This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Biography Nikolai Myaskovsky (ru: Н.Мясковский) (April 20, 1881 – August 8, 1950) was born near Warsaw (though moved to Saint Petersburg in his teens,) and at first discouraged from a musical career — not unusually — and into the military, where indeed he did spend some of the years of the First... Suk can refer to. ... // Places in the United Kingdom Walton, Buckinghamshire Walton, Cheshire Walton, Cumbria Walton, Derbyshire Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex Walton, Leicestershire Walton, Merseyside Walton, Milton Keynes Walton, Peterborough Walton, Powys Walton, Somerset Walton, Staffordshire Walton, Suffolk Walton-on-Thames, Surrey Walton, Telford Walton, Warwickshire Walton, Wakefield, West Yorkshire Walton, Leeds, West... Benjamin (Hebrew: בִּנְיָמִין; Standard Hebrew: Binyamin; Tiberian Hebrew Binyāmîn) is a Hebrew Bible figure. ... Ernest Chausson (January 20, 1855 – June 10, 1899) was a French composer. ...

An underrated conductor, Stock wasn't a glamorous figure like Stokowski, Nikisch, or Toscanini. Self-effacing on the podium, Stock directed the listener's attention away from the conductor and to the music itself. This did not mean he was a boring conductor, however, as his thrilling recordings of Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Gliere, Brahms and others testify. Unfortunately, because of his rather modest manner, Stock has failed to garner the attention, fame, and respect of listeners that he richly deserves. His recordings, hard to come by in the CD era, have been intermittently available from Biddulph, Dante/Lys, and from the Chicago Symphony's website. Leopold Stokowski Leopold Stokowski (April 18, 1882 - September 13, 1977) (born Antoni Stanisław Bolesławowicz) was the conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the NBC Symphony Orchestra and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. ... Arturo Toscanini (March 25, 1867 - January 16, 1957) was considered by many of his contemporaries — critics, fellow musicians, and the public alike — as the greatest conductor of his era. ...

After Stock's death in 1942, Désiré Defauw was chosen as his successor. Désiré Defauw (born September 5, 1885, Ghent, Belgium, died July 25, 1960, Gary, Indiana) was a Belgian conductor and violinist. ...

Notable Recordings

• Johann Sebastian Bach: Suite No. 2 in B-minor, BWV 1067 (Recorded 1928, RCA Victor)
• Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor" (Artur Schnabel, pianist; Recorded 1941, RCA Victor)
• Johannes Brahms: Hungarian Dances Nos. 17-21 (Recorded 1926, RCA Victor)
• Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 3 in F-major, op. 90 (Recorded 1941, Columbia)
• Ernest Chausson: Symphony in B-minor (Recorded 1942, RCA Victor)
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 38 in D-major, K. 504 "Prague" (Recorded 1939, Columbia)
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 40 in G-minor, K. 550 (Recorded 1926, RCA Victor)
• Franz Schubert: Symphony No. 9 in C-major, D. 944 "Great" (Recorded 1939, Columbia)
• Richard Strauss: On the Shores of Sorrento from Aus Italien (Recorded 1941, RCA Victor)
• Richard Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra, op. 30 (Recorded 1940, Columbia)
• Josef Suk: Folk Dance (a la Polka) from A Fairy Tale (Recorded 1941, Columbia)
• Peter Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5, op. 64 (Recorded 1928, RCA Victor)
• Peter Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto, op. 35 (Nathan Milstein, violinist; Recorded 1940, Columbia)
• Peter Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker Suite, op. 71 (Recorded 1941, Columbia)
• Richard Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg - Prelude to Act I (Recorded 1926, RCA Victor)
• William Walton: Scapino - A Comedy Overture (original version; Recorded 1941, Columbia)