The Short Piano Works of Edward Macdowell
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City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects CUNY Graduate Center 1982 The Short Piano Works of Edward MacDowell Francis Paul Brancaleone The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/4096 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] INFORMATION TO USERS This reproduction was made from a copy of a document sent to us for microfilming. While the most advanced technology has been used to photograph and reproduce this document, the quality of the reproduction is heavily dependent upon the quality of the material submitted. 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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 8302496 Brancaleone, Francis Paul THE SHORT PIANO WORKS OF EDWARD MACDOWELL City University o f New York Ph.D. 1982 University Microfilms International 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106 Copyright 1982 by Brancaleone, Francis Paul All Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE SHORT PIANO WORKS OF EDWARD MACDOWELL by Francis Brancaleone A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York. 1982 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. COPYRIGHT © BY FRANCIS BRANCALEONE 1982. All rights reserved. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This manuscript has been read and accepted by the Graduate Faculty in Music in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. [Signature] 21 date Chairman of Examining Co) ee [Signature] 19 \JlA7UL date Executive Officer [Signature] [Signature] [Signature] ervisory Committee The City University of New York Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. A b s tra c t THE SHORT PIANO WORKS OF EDWARD MACDOWELL by Francis Brancaleone Adviser: Professor Sherman Van Solkema At the beginning of the twentieth century, Edward MacDowell (1860-1908) was thought by many to be America's leading composer. His fame rested on his personal appear ances, performances of his orchestral suites, piano concertos, and other piano works, as well as his teaching position at Columbia. This study presents a style analysis of the complete body of short piano works (160), including the unpublished juvenilia (32 compositions) and those works published under the pseudonym of Edgar Thorn (13 compositions). MacDowell's published short piano compositions consist of 115 pieces in 19 sets, composed over the period 1880-1902. These pieces constitute a significant contri bution to the repertoire of the short piano piece during the last decades of the nineteenth century and compare favorably with any short piano pieces written during that time. Three style periods have been distinguished: Early iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Works (1880-87), First Maturity (1887-96), and Final Works (1896-1902). This study attempts to answer some basic questions about MacDowell and his music, demonstrating, in particular, a considerable style development between Op. 10 and Op. 62. The evolution of MacDowell's style is also observed through study of the major revisions which he made for American editions of works originally published in Europe. Style development is measured in discussions of the range, scope, and degree of variety in this body of piano music, and by assessing the nature of MacDowell's contribution to the literature of the Romantic short piano piece. Apart from the student compositions of his earliest student days in Paris, MacDowell's works are character pieces in the tradition of Schumann, Liszt, Raff, the "New German" school of the second half of the nineteenth century, and there is tangible evidence for the acquaintance with Richard Wagner's works. The influence of Grieg proves to be less significant than formerly thought. After a protracted period of re transition to America and a partial embrace of its cultural heritage, MacDowell in his late works writes expressive pieces of great individuality and personal stamp, even though his language was not particularly progressive. Motivic material drawn from Indian sources appears on occasion. v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It has been my good fortune to have received assistance from many sources in the course of my work on the music of Edward MacDowell. I owe a special debt of gratitude to my dissertation adviser, Sherman Van Solkema, for his painstaking thoroughness in examination of the material and countless suggestions for improvement in all aspects of the work. To my dissertation readers, H. Wiley Hitchcock and Leo Kraft, I give sincere thanks for their ready response and their always perceptive comments and advice. Thanks are due also to Barry S. Brook, Executive Officer of the Ph. D. Program in Music at CUNY, for his support and encouragement, and to William Shank of the CUNY Graduate School Music Library. I acknowledge with thanks the aid of Wayne Shirley of the Library of Congress and Kenneth A. Lohf of the Columbia University Library, as well as the staffs of the New York Public Library and the MacDowell Colony for their kind and willing, assistance. Margery M. Lowens was very generous with advice and provided an introduction to repositories of source material. Frank M. Graves freely shared private materials and personal reminiscences of his mother Wilhelmina Landau Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Graves, who had been a student of MacDowell*s. Philip L. Miller shared his knowledge of MacDowell, to whom he is distantly related, and his collection of recordings of MacDowell*s music. Thanks are due as well to John Kirkpatrick for a lengthy interview in which he shared his unique insight into the work and meaning of MacDowell's art, to Thomas and Elizabeth Lewis for their personal support, and to other acquaintances, friends and colleagues for contributions impossible to mention individually. I am indebted to the Sinfonia Foundation for a research grant which made possible trips to the MacDowell Colony and the Library of Congress and the acquisition of helpful materials. For their special assistance and encouragement in ways too numerous to ennunciate, I especially thank Leonard Gilman and George R. Hill. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the great contribution to this study of a superb singer of MacDowell's songs, my wife Elsa Jean, who provided unwavering encour agement and enduring support in this project. vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements........................................ vi Chapter I INTRODUCTION: The sources for a study of MacDowell's short piano works.............. 1 II JUVENILIA (1876-79) Opp. 1-8 (unpublished, 32 pieces)............ 24 III EARLY WORKS: FRANKFURT/DARMSTADT/WIESBADEN (1880-87) Opp. 10-24 (8 publications, 27 pieces) . 52 IV FIRST MATURITY: