Among the first American composers to win an international reputation, Edward MacDowell spent his formative years in Europe, where his music was championed by Liszt. After his return to the United States in 1888, he was appointed first professor of music at Columbia University.

In his songs, settings of English, Scottish and German verse, MacDowell continues the German Lieder tradition in which he had been trained in Frankfurt as a pupil of Heymann and Raff. His work and inspiration have much in common with Grieg.