Gustav Strube

Who was Gustav Strube?

Gustav Strube was a German-born conductor and composer. He was the founding conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 1916, and taught at the Peabody Conservatory. He wrote two operas, Ramona, which premiered in 1916, and The Captive, which premiered at the Lyric Theatre in Baltimore in February 1938. He was also a member of Baltimore's famous Saturday Night Club with H.L. Mencken.

Strube was born in the Harz Mountains of Ballenstadt in 1867 and came from a musically gifted family. By the age of 10, Strube was in his father's symphony, and at the age of 16 he entered the Leipzig Conservatory. Strube used to earn pocket money by making dance music for Saturday night dance parties. Upon graduation he entered the Gewandhaus Orchestra, and played under Johann Strauss, the younger, while teaching at the Mannheim Conservatory. In 1889 Strube and conductor Artur Nikisch immigrated to the United States to play in the Boston Symphony Orchestra, he said.

Strube played in the Boston Symphony Orchestra for 23 years, and eventually became concert master. Strube was one of the first conductors of the Boston Pops, formed because of the success of "march master" John Philip Sousa, according to the Boston Pops Homepage.