The Â鶹ԼÅÄ Philharmonic perform a selection of music spanning the career of celebrated American composer Edward MacDowell, conducted by John Wilson and with pianist Xiayin Wang.
Today, we hear a selection from celebrated American composer Edward MacDowell, whose philanthropic vision continues to benefit artists of all disciplines more than a century after his death.
In 1896, after living in Germany and then Boston for some years, MacDowell and his wife Marian purchased an idyllic summer residence in Peterborough, rural New Hampshire. It was here that Edward’s own creativity blossomed. Sadly, this fertile period was to be the twilight of Edward’s career, and in 1904, following a road accident, his health began to decline. He expressed to his wife and friends his great wish that other artists might benefit from the secluded beauty of the surroundings at Hillcrest Farm, a place where he had been so prolific and at peace with his art. In 1906, prominent citizens of the time — among them Grover Cleveland, Andrew Carnegie, and J. Pierpont Morgan — created a fund in Edward’s honour to make the idea a reality, and the following year, the MacDowell Artist’s Residency opened to its first students. Edward lived to see them arrive before his death in 1908 at 47. Marian led the MacDowell Residency with care and dedication until her own death in 1956, developing it and raising funds for its preservation, and today it is still the preeminent artist residency in the US, with a host of well-known, award winning alumni.
Conductor John Wilson leads us through a career-spanning selection of MacDowell’s work, from his time composing in Germany (Piano Concerto No.1) right through to one of his last published pieces, Lamia.
