Late Romantic, atmospheric, dramatic, beautiful: the Shakespeare tone poem Hamlet and Ophelia by Edward MacDowell, the first US composer to achieve international acclaim. He was still strongly influenced by European tradition: lots of Liszt, a bit of Brahms, a dash of Edvard Grieg - that was the mix. The first true musical Americana emerged with ragtime, jazz, and the popular music influenced by them. George Gershwin was a pioneer in the fusion of these genres with classical music. Master arranger Robert Russell Bennett has combined the hits from his opera Porgy and Bess into a colorful panorama in his Symphonic Picture . The southern part of the continent also sends its greetings with Rhythm of the Americas by US jazz and fusion musician Bob Mintzer. Afro-Caribbean, jazz, and much more combine to create a fiery mix in this concert for saxophone quartet and orchestra. At the helm: the Israeli-American conductor Nimrod David Pfeffer, closely associated with the New York Met and the Lyric Opera Company of Guatemala.

Four Saxophones And Porgy & Bess

Meistersinger Hall

EPSG:4326

Beethoven + MacDowell

Riverview Theatre

Aaron Copland made four highly publicized government-sponsored trips to Latin America between 1941 and 1963. During these visits, he shared contemporary American concert music with Latin American audiences, including his own violin sonata, heard on tonight’s program. Back home, he drew US attention to the composers and musicians he met in Latin America, such as Heitor Villa-Lobos of Brazil and Silvestre Revueltas and Manuel Ponce of Mexico, all whom Copland knew personally and whose works are also featured. Another contemporary of Copland was the Black American composer William Grant Still, whose Panamanian Dances were inspired by a collection of Latin American folk songs. The history of Pan-American musical exchange predates Copland.

The Americas

Hanna Boys Center

Join the BBC Philharmonic and conductor John Wilson at MediaCityUK today for a celebration of springtime’s abundance. First on the programme is a selection of works from celebrated American composer Edward MacDowell, whose philanthropic vision became his great legacy. MacDowell was deeply inspired by the idyllic surroundings of his farm in rural New Hampshire, and he composed many of his best-loved works there, including To a Wild Rose, which we hear today. Towards the end of his life, MacDowell and his wife Marian founded the MacDowell Residency, an artistic retreat based at their home, and where they hoped that other creatives might benefit from the peace and tranquillity. The prestigious Residency continues to thrive more than a century after MacDowell’s death, with many internationally recognised artists amongst its Fellows. This afternoon, the BBC Philharmonic’s Principal Cellist Peter Dixon is soloist in MacDowell’s Romance for cello and orchestra, a gentle yet stirring work, suggestive of a woodland stroll in the light of the setting sun.

Spring Fire with the BBC Philharmonic

MediaCityUK

Wilson Liu, Piano

The Juilliard School

Make the most of the last days before Halloween. This year’s Sinfonia concert program will set the tone with enchanted and haunted landscapes. Alongside familiar symphonic titles, including The Moldau and Mussorgsky’s A Night on Bald Mountain, cme hear Liadov’s ethereal and mystical “The Enchanted Lake” and the major melodies from John Powell’s film score to How to Train Your Dragon.  Costumes are not required but welcome!

Halloween with Sinfonia

Princeton University

The BBC Philharmonic perform a selection of music spanning the career of celebrated American composer Edward MacDowell, conducted by John Wilson and with pianist Xiayin Wang.

An afternoon of Edward MacDowell

Story and Myth in Music

MassBay Community College

The American premiere of the MacDowell Piano Concerto No. 2 took place in New York on March 5, 1889, with the composer as the soloist. The same concert also included the American premiere of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5. The New York Tribune wrote, “It is a splendid composition, so full of poetry, so full of vigor…” In Europe, however, critics complained that the work was, “too Lisztian.” Liszt had been the composer’s friend and a strong promoter of his music. Michael Stephen Brown champions the work with ardor and appropriate virtuosity.

Petals of Beauty

Southern Oregon University

Grants Pass High School

Fanfare for the New World Symphony Concert

Neumann University

For this all-American program, the MSO features its principal harpist, Melanie Young, in a performance of Ennanga by William Grant Still.

This rarely heard work for harp, strings, and piano is a vivid reflection of the ennanga, an African harp-like instrument. Played on a modern harp, the piece has a calming, restorative quality that gently soothes the soul.

Edward MacDowell

Events

Upcoming events

9 - 11 Jan, 2026

Petals of Beauty · Rogue Valley Symphony

Mar 1, 2026

Fanfare for the New World Symphony Concert · Delaware County Symphony

Mar 7, 2026

Sonic America · Manassas Symphony Orchestra

Past events

Nov 8, 2025

Four Saxophones And Porgy & Bess · Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra

Mar 28, 2025

Beethoven + MacDowell · Shreveport Symphony Orchestra

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