MacDowell was truly a tone poet, whose music showed a great gift for melody. No other American composer has painted a wild rose, an iceberg, a water lily or a deserted farmhouse so eloquently. MacDowell’s legacy of beautiful and enduring piano pieces is interpreted by the late, award-winning pianist James Barbagallo, whose love of this music is heard in every note.

A contemporary of Debussy at the Paris Conservatoire and later a pupil of Raff in Frankfurt, Edward MacDowell was the first American composer to achieve international recognition, writing music in the tradition of Schumann and often reflecting the interests of Grieg.