Edward MacDowell . atastrophe in the houror triumph. ... In doing this he has tried toepitomise the whole work. The meaning of thecoda is thus made clear: a climax approachedwith the utmost pomp and brilliancy, and cut shortby a precipitate descent in octaves, j%f, ending with areminiscence of the portentous subject of the intro-duction. It is a profoundly moving conclusion toa noble work—a work which Mr. James Hunekerhas not extravagantly called the most marked con-tribution to solo sonata literature since Brahms F-minor piano sonata; yet it is not so fine a workas any one of the three sonata
Edward MacDowell . atastrophe in the houror triumph. ... In doing this he has tried toepitomise the whole work. The meaning of thecoda is thus made clear: a climax approachedwith the utmost pomp and brilliancy, and cut shortby a precipitate descent in octaves, j%f, ending with areminiscence of the portentous subject of the intro-duction. It is a profoundly moving conclusion toa noble work—a work which Mr. James Hunekerhas not extravagantly called the most marked con-tribution to solo sonata literature since Brahms F-minor piano sonata; yet it is not so fine a workas any one of the three sonatas which MacDowellhas since written. The style evinces, for the firsttime in his piano music, the striking orchestralcharacter of his thought—yet the writing is not,paradoxical as it may seem, unpianistic. The sug-gestion of orchestral requirements is contained inthe massiveness of the harmonic texture, and in thecumulative effect of the climaxes and crescendi. Heconveys an impression of extended tone-spaces, of. <o CO wWH toO CO§ to-tiSH to Oi—iH O Ph toO to •j S en THE SONATAS 61 a largeness, complexity, and solidity of structure,which are peculiar to his own music, and whichpresupposes a rather disdainful view of the limita-tions of mere strings and hammers; yet it is allplayable : its demands are formidable, but notimpossible. In 1895 MacDowell published his SonataEroica (Opus 50), and those who had wonderedhow he could better his performance in the Tra-gica received a fresh demonstration of the vitalityof his gifts. For these sonatas of his constitute anascending series, steadily progressive in excellenceof substance and workmanship. They are, on thewhole, I think it will be determined, his mostsignificant and important contribution to musicalart. The Eroica bears the motto, Flos regumArthuris, and as a further index to its contentMacDowell has given this explanation : Whilenot exactly programme music, * he says, I had inmind the Arthurian legend when writing th
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookpublisherlondon, bookyear190
