An Afternoon in Midway Plaisance (cover image)

Gustav Luders (sometimes spelled “Lueders”, 1865–1913) was a minor composer of operettas in the late nineteenth century. Born and trained in Germany, he immigrated first to Milwaukee in 1888 and then became a musical theater director and composer in Chicago the following year. At the time of the Fair, his star was on the rise, and he a number of his operettas appeared on Broadway in the early 1900s before his popularity waned. While this piece was clearly written for piano, the music’s cover announces it was played with “phenomenal success” by the Schiller Theater Orchestra, indicating that this is most likely an arrangement. The music describes a typical journey through the Midway and in some ways anticipates the character of silent movie music written in the 19-teens and 1920s.

Cover image for sheet music to "An Afternoon in Midway Plaisance" by Gustav Luders

Luders, Gustave [inside Lueders]

Henry Detmer Music House, 103-109 Randolph St.

1893

Courtesy of the Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music, The Sheridan Libraries, The Johns Hopkins University, Box 170, Item 4.

English

The Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music, The Sheridan Libraries, The Johns Hopkins University, Box 170, Item 4.
http://levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu/catalog/levy:170.004