Edward MacDowell / Little Women
On this day in classical music: American composer and pianist Edward MacDowell died at age 47 in New York in 1908. In 1877, MacDowell studied music at the Paris Conservatoire and continued his studies in Frankfurt, Germany. The composer served as professor of music at Columbia University from 1897 to 1904. He is best known for his second piano concerto and his piano suites “Woodland Sketches,” “Sea Pieces” and “New England Idylls.” The “Woodland Sketches” contains his most popular short piece, “To a Wild Rose.” In 1904, MacDowell was one of the first seven Americans honored by membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire remains popular as a haven for composers seeking a quiet setting for writing music. Listen to Stephen Hough perform MacDowell’s whirling “Hexentanz” (“Witches Dance”). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIGDgaP2FYI
On this day in the musical theatre: The musical “Little Women” opened on Broadway 2005. Featuring a book by Allan Knee, music by Jason Howland and lyrics by Mindi Dickstein, “Little Women” was based on Louisa May Alcott’s classic 1869 semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. Its plot focuses on the four March sisters — brassy, tomboy-like, aspiring writer Jo, romantic Meg, pretentious Amy, and kind-hearted Beth — and their beloved Marmee, at home in Concord, Massachusetts while the family patriarch is away serving as a Union Army chaplain during the Civil War. The Broadway cast included Sutton Foster as Jo and Maureen McGovern as Marmee. “Little Women” only managed a four-month run. Listen to Foster perform “Astonishing” from “Little Women.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSanYf07st8
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