MacDowell, Etude Op. 46, No. 4, "Improvisation"

[rachfan]

Yesterday I was looking through Edward MacDowell's (1861-1908) Twelve Virtuoso Studies and immediately noticed No. 4, "Improvisation".  Being unfamiliar with the piece, I was very curious to hear the sound of a 19th century composer's improvisation, so played through it.  I was pleasantly surprised!  I then spent some time practicing it, recorded it, and am sharing it with you here. 

If you've not heard it before, I think you'll find it interesting.  Comments welcome.

[matterintospirit]

Ah. Rachfan, the romantic. Lovely little piece.

[rachfan]

Hi matter,

Thanks!  Yes, it's a fine miniature indeed--perhaps not exactly characteristic of MacDowell, but then again, this was based on his improvising.  It's amazing how from the 1800's a couple of moments in this piece anticipate the blues! 

I think that MacDowell and Grieg had similarities other than both being Edward and Edvard respectively and being contemporaries.  Both composers had successful piano concertos that are still played today, yet their piano sonatas faded into near obscurity.  And both were most successful in prolifically writing short character pieces such as this one.  Nearly all their character pieces are, at most, at the moderate level of difficulty and provide fine repertoire for intermediate students. 

Although we think of MacDowell as an American composer, which he certainly was, his training and his idiom are solidly in the European tradition.  In that era, of course, no American composer or musician was "worth his salt" and could be considered credible unless he studied in Europe and emulated the musical style of the day there.   

This "Improvisation" was a curious find for me last week, so I was glad to post it here.         

[matterintospirit]

ps: I love the "Woodland Sketches."

[rachfan]

Yes!  The "Woodland Sketches" are a fine collection.  The first piece, the deceptively simple "To a Wild Rose", reminds me of a remark attributed to the artist Moriz Rosenthal.  He said that he had been studying [the also deceptively simple] Prelude Op. 28, No. 7 in A of Chopin for 60 years, and was still finding new and deeper insights in that piece.  "To a Wild Rose" is of a similar nature.

There are also some gems in "Sea Pieces", " New England Idyls", "Twelve Studies" and the "Twelve Virtuoso Studies".  I don't happen to own the "Fireside Tales", but some say it may well be MacDowell's finest set of character pieces.   

[pianistimo]

i love edward macdowell.  thanks for sharing this piece!  you have a good feel for his music.  it was enjoyable to listen to.

[rachfan]

Hi pianisstimo,

Thanks for your compliments!  I think that MacDowell is one of the underappreciated composers.  To be honest, I hadn't played much of his music before.  When I was a youngster I recall doing "To a Wild Rose" from the Woodland Sketches and also his etude "Hungarian" from Op. 39, No. 12 (but not the set of etudes from which I drew "Improvisation", which is Op. 46.)  I liked "Improvisation" from the moment I played through it, could see its potential, and was already formulating ideas for performing it.  It's an intermediate level piece, so was not challenging, but I loved the sound so was eager to post it here.  Of course, Bach loved to improvise, and undoubtedly composers before him must surely have done so too.  But it was an insight to hear an improvisation committed to score by a late Romantic American composer.  Despite his respect for European musical traditions of his time, "Improvisation" shows that he could be most original too.