Edward MacDowell was one of America's first and most important native-born composers. Smaller piano works have enhanced MacDowell's reputation more than any of his other compositions. He was a miniaturist and his small works are naturally imbued with sparkle and a charming romantic atmosphere. This early collection of piano pieces was written while the MacDowells lived in a small cottage outside of Wiesbaden, Germany. Legends, elves and love of nature permeated these character pieces. An Elfin Round" is a Federation Festivals 2016-2020 selection. A Federation Festivals 2020-2024 selection."

(Meredith Music Resource). An invaluable, quick reference tool for any teacher, performer or student of the piano who desires an extensive listing of the most significant works composed for solo piano. Accurate, concise and thoroughly researched entries provide an at-a-glance overview of a composer's output, with information on difficulty levels, opus numbers, movement titles, publisher sources and so forth. Whether searching for new material or refreshing one's perspective, this portable database of information will prove itself indispensable for repertoire study and planning. A must-have resource for any pianist's bookshelf or piano. (a href="http://youtu.be/FyL_dNk9z8w" target="_blank")Click here for a YouTube video on A Practical Guide to Solo Piano Music(/a)

Edward MacDowell was born on the eve of the Civil War into a Quaker family in lower Manhattan, where music was a forbidden pleasure. With the help of Latin-American émigré teachers, he became a formidable pianist and composer, spending twelve years in France and Germany establishing his career. Upon his return to the United States in 1888 he conquered American audiences with his dramatic Second Piano Concerto and won his way into their hearts with his poetic Woodland Sketches. Columbia University tapped him as their first professor of music in 1896, but a scandalous row with powerful university president Nicholas Murray Butler spelled the end of his career. MacDowell died a broken man four years later, but his widow Marian kept his spirit alive through the MacDowell Colony, which she founded in 1907 in their New Hampshire home, and which is today the oldest and one of the most influential, thriving artist colonies in the the United States. Drawing on private letters that were sealed for fifty years after his death, this biography traces MacDowell's compelling life story, with new revelations about his Quaker childhood, his efforts to succeed in the insular German music world, his mysterious death, and his lifelong struggle with Seasonal Affective Disorder. Edward MacDowell's story is a timeless tale of human strength and weakness set in one of the most vibrant periods of American musical history, when optimism about the country's artistic future made anything seem possible.

The Classics for the Advancing Pianist series provides motivating, enjoyable literature of substantial quality for developing keyboard artists. The pieces in these books, written by Edward MacDowell and ordered in a logical progression from volume to volume, help the performer work within his or her abilities while developing playing and listening skills. This standard teaching repertoire will help build technique and musicianship, as well as offer hours of personal enjoyment. Titles: * Alla Tarantella, Op. 39, No. 2 * Beauty in the Rose Garden, Op. 4, No. 3 * Bluette, Op. 7, No. 5 * In Autumn, Op. 51, No. 4 * Song, Op. 55, No. 5 * A Tin Soldier's Love, Op. 7, No. 1 * To a Hummingbird, Op. 7, No. 2 * To a Wild Rose, Op. 51, No. 1