The
Romanze Op 35 by Edward MacDowell, dedicated to David Popper, was composed in 1888. Having failed to gain a post at the Royal Academy of Music in London—not only because he was considered too young but also because of his friendship with Liszt, who was considered too ‘modern’—MacDowell and his wife bought a cottage in the woods not far from Wiesbaden in which he was able to devote himself to composition. During this period, before returning with his wife to the USA, he completed several songs and piano pieces, two orchestral tone poems, his Second Piano Concerto, and this beautiful
Romanze which is marked by a touching lyrical simplicity.
from notes by Peter Avis © 2011
