Edward MacDowell, 1861-1908. Suite No. 2, ``Indian,'' Op. 48. Completed 1896, first performance January 23, 1896, in Boston. Scored for 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 clarinets, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, tympani, bass drum, cymbals, and strings.
Best known for his piano works, notably To a Wild Rose, the 19th-century American composer Edward MacDowell is regrettably unfamiliar to most symphonic audiences. The fault lies not in the quality of his music, but rather in the unfortunate tendency of major orchestras to repeatedly program popular and well-known works instead of venturing into unexplored territory that, although rewarding, cannot be counted upon to sell tickets. It is thus doubly gratifying that conductor Robert Lawson has chosen to bring us not only MacDowell's enjoyable ``Indian'' Suite, but also the premiere of roger allen ward's new harp concerto.
Although MacDowell did not fit the popular image of composer as child prodigy, he showed an early interest in music, beginning informal piano lessons at the age of eight. His compositional inclinations soon came to the fore, as he tended to improvise whenever his first teacher (a friend of the family) was out of sight. After a few years, he began studying with a professional pianist, and at the age of 15 traveled to Europe with his mother to enroll at the Paris Conservatory. He remained on the Continent for over a decade, studying at various well-known music schools, earning prestigious positions as an instructor (and also being turned down for several due to his youth, despite his obvious talent), and marrying one of his pupils, the American Marian Nevins.
As MacDowell's reputation grew, a number of American musicians encouraged him to return home, where they felt he would bring both respect and expertise to the cause of American music. It was thus that the MacDowells moved to Boston in 1888. This began one of the composer's most productive periods, which culminated with his being chosen to found a music department at Columbia University in early 1896.
It was near the end of the Boston period that MacDowell composed the ``Indian'' Suite, based primarily on themes found in the music of Native Americans of the Northeast. Although it is little played today, the work was a success with audiences and critics alike, being performed a number of times in the years following its composition. The work also satisfied one other important listener: MacDowell himself, who was often critical of his own output, confessed in 1903 that ``of all my music, the `Dirge' in the `Indian' Suite pleases me most. It affects me deeply and did when I was writing it. In it an Indian woman laments the death of her son; but to me, as I wrote it, it seemed to express a world-sorrow rather than a particularised grief.''
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