Carl Venth

Carl Venth (February 16, 1860 – January 29, 1938) was a German-American composer, violinist, conductor, music educator, and scholar.

Carl studied at the Friedrich Wilhelm-Gymnasium; at the Cologne Conservatory, where he learned the violin with George Japha and composition with Ferdinand Hiller, Gustav Jensen, and Otto Klauwell; and at the Brussels Conservatory, where he studied violin with Henryk Wieniawski and from which he graduated in 1877.

In 1880, he moved to the United States whereupon he concertized as a violin soloist for four years before accepting a position in the orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

Many of his compositions were premiered in New York and other important venues and were issued by major publishing houses, including Breitkopf & Härtel and Carl Fischer.

Pan is described in Venth's Dallas Morning News obituary as "the first American opera to gain international recognition."