at the age of forty-five, to lead a peaceful country life.  He had purchased the old manor house of Frovolo, on the outskirts of the town of Klin, near Moscow.  Here his two beautiful ballets and two greatest Symphonies, the Fifth and Sixth, were written.  The Fifth Symphony was composed in 1888 and published the next year.  On its first hearing it made little impression and was scarcely heard again till Nikisch, with unerring judgment, rescued it from neglect; then the world discovered it to be one of the composer’s greatest works.

Tschaikowsky’s two last operas, the “Pique Dame” (Queen of Spades), Op. 68, and “King Rene’s Daughter” are not considered in any way distinctive, although the former was performed in New York, at the Metropolitan.  The Third Piano Concerto, Op. 75, occupied the master during his last days at Frovolo; it was left unfinished by him and was completed by the composer Taneiev.  The wonderful Sixth Symphony, Op. 74, is a superb example of Tschaikowsky’s genius.  It was composed in 1893, and the title “Pathetic” was given it by the composer after its first performance, in St. Petersburg, shortly before his death, as the reception of it by the public did not meet his anticipations.  In this work the passion and despair which fill so many of the master’s finest compositions, rise to the highest tragic significance.  The last movement, with its prophetic intimation of his coming death, is heart-breaking.  One cannot listen to its poignant phrases without deep emotion.  The score is dated August 81, 1893.  On October twelfth, Tschaikowsky passed away in St. Petersburg, a victim of cholera.

A couple of years before he passed away, Tschiakowsky came to America.  In May, 1891, he conducted four concerts connected with the formal opening of Carnegie Hall, New York.  We well remember his interesting personality, as he stood before the orchestra, conducting many of his own works, with Adele Aus der Ohe playing his famous Concerto in B flat minor.

The music of this representative Russian composer has made rapid headway in the world’s appreciation, during the last few years.  Once heard it will always be remembered.  For we can never forget the deeply human and touching message which is brought to us through the music of Peter Ilyitch Tschaikowsky.

XXI

EDWARD MACDOWELL

Edward MacDowell has been acclaimed America’s greatest composer.  If we try to substitute another name in its place, one of equal potency cannot be found.

Our composer’s ancestors were Irish and Scotch, though his father was born in New York City and his mother was an American girl.  Edward was their third son, and appeared December 18, 1861; this event happened at the home of his parents, 220 Clinton Street, New York.

The father was a man of artistic instincts, and as a youth, fond of drawing and painting.  His parents had been Quakers of a rather severe sort and had discouraged all such artistic efforts.  Little Edward seems to have inherited his father’s artistic gifts, added to his own inclination toward music.