Frederick Stock (1872-1942) was a German-born American conductor and composer, best remembered as long-serving music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Born in Jülich, he trained as a violinist and composer before emigrating to the United States.

Stock wrote orchestral works and arrangements, but his historical importance rests chiefly on his work with the Chicago Symphony. The Pristine catalogue includes both his conducting and his own music.

As a composer-arranger, Stock worked in a late Romantic idiom shaped by practical orchestral knowledge. His pieces and orchestrations reflect a conductor’s ear for balance and effect.

Stock’s career helped establish the Chicago Symphony as a major recording and concert force. His own composer page is a useful reminder that the baton and manuscript paper often shared the same desk.