McDowell
One of the first
American composers to be recognised internationally,
Edward McDowell (1860-1908) was
born in New York, went to Paris, France,
to study at the age of 16, and then went to Weimar,
Germany, where he
played his first piano concerto, and was encouraged by
Liszt.
He
returned to United States of America in
1888 after 12 years in Europe, to settle in Boston, Massachusetts. He taught
pianoforte, performed as a concert pianist, and tried to find time to compose.
His suite for piano Woodland Sketches contains To a
Wild Rose, which is his most well-loved composition. This employs a wistful,
firmly diatonic melody, above a restrained harmony notable for its sparseness of
chords whilst still lush and exotically chromatic. You may listen to it here on Best
Classical Tunes.