Macdowell and American Folk Music

Macdowell and American Folk Music examines how the American composer Edward Macdowell was inspired by folk music from around the world.

Introduction

Edward Alexander Macdowell (December 18, 1860 – January 23, 1908) was an American composer and pianist, born in New York City. He received his musical education in the U.S. and in Germany. He is best known for his piano music and orchestral work “Indian Suite”.

Macdowell was the first American composer to gain recognition in Europe. He did much to further the status of music in America, both through his compositions and through his work as a teacher at Columbia University and elsewhere. His pupils included several who went on to prominent careers as composers, including Ruth Crawford Seeger, Aaron Copland, Leo Ornstein, George Gershwin, Elliott Carter, Quincy Porter, Ilona Kombrink and Douglas Moore.

Macdowell’s music was influenced by German Romanticism (in particular the works of Liszt and Schumann), Polish folk music (he was particularly fond of mazurkas), and Native American music. He is sometimes referred to as the “Beethoven of the Indians”, although he disdained that label.

The life and work of Macdowell

Edward Alexander MacDowell (1860-1908) was an American composer and pianist during the Romantic period. He was the first American composer to gain widespread recognition both in the United States and Europe. MacDowell was particularly known for his piano music, which included a series of piano miniatures now known as the “Woodland Sketches”.

Born in New York City, MacDowell showed an early interest in music and began to compose at the age of eight. His first piano lessons were with his mother, who was an accomplished pianist herself. When he was ten years old, his family moved to Germany so that he could study at the Leipzig Conservatory, where he studied with teachers such as Felix Mendelssohn and Carl Reinecke.

After graduating from the Leipzig Conservatory, MacDowell returned to the United States and settled in Boston, where he worked as a piano teacher and concert pianist. In 1888, he married Marian Griswold Nevins, with whom he had two sons: Edward Jr. and John.

MacDowell’s most important compositions were written during the 1890s, when he was living in rural New Hampshire. It was during this time that he wrote some of his best-known works, including “To a Wild Rose” (1896) and “Sea Drift” (1898). His Piano Concerto in D Minor (1896) was also composed during this period and is considered one of his greatest works.

MacDowell continued to compose until his health began to fail in 1906. He died two years later at the age of 48.

His influence on American folk music

Macdowell was a composer and pianist who was foundational in the development of American folk music. He was born in New York City to Scottish parents, and his father was a strict Calvinist minister. Macdowell showed an aptitude for music at an early age and was soon taking piano lessons. He went on to study at the newly founded Juilliard School, where he met his future wife, Marian Nevins.

Macdowell is best known for his work on “The Death of Ase,” from Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, which he orchestrated and popularized in America. He also did important work collecting and editing American folk songs, which were published in several volumes, including The Macdowell Colony Songbook (1923). His compositions were highly influenced by American folk music, particularly that of the Appalachian region. He is considered one of the first American composers to successfully meld classical and folk music traditions.

His legacy

After his death, MacDowell’s widow Marian MacDowell gave their rural New Hampshire farm to the State of New Hampshire with the stipulation that it be used as an artists’ colony. This legacy continues to this day at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire which has hosted over 6,000 artists since its founding in 1907.

MacDowell’s music was largely ignored during the years immediately following his death, but there was a renewed interest in his work in the mid-20th century. His essay “What is American Music?” (1906) is still widely read and he is now considered one of the most important American composers of his time.