Exactly 100 years ago, Frances Glessner carefully pasted a postcard into
her journal that read as follows:
May 17th,
1914
EDWARD MACDOWELL
MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION
PETERBOROUGH, NEW
HAMPSHIRE
My dear Mrs. Glessner
–
You were one of those
kind enough to buy tickets for the recital I gave, last Winter, for the benefit
of the Association.
I am sending you our
new report which I hope you will have time to look over. I think it proves the importance of what we
are doing. Our financial struggle is
very cruel, but the artistic value of it all beyond question. Should you be near us, this Summer, will you
not come and see it all ---
Thanking you for your
kindness,
Sincerely yrs,
M. MacDowell (Mrs.
E.)
The note was penned by Marian MacDowell, the widow of the great American
composer and pianist Edward MacDowell. Given
the Glessners’ great love of classical music and their untiring support of the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, it is not surprising that they would have also been
interested in supporting the MacDowell Association.
Edward MacDowell was born in New York City in 1860 and began taking
piano lessons at an early age, one of his teachers being the Venezuelan pianist
Teresa Carreño. At the age of 16, his
family moved to Paris and he was admitted to the Paris Conservatory. Two years later, he performed some of his own
compositions and a transcription of a Liszt symphonic poem at a recital. Among those present was the composer Franz
Liszt.
Soon after, MacDowell moved to Frankfort where he began teaching and
composing. In 1884, he married one of
his American piano students, Marian Griswold Nevins (who was originally brought
to Europe to study with Clara Schumann, only to find that she was away). The MacDowells returned to the United States
in 1888 living in Boston for eight years until he was appointed the director of
music at Columbia University.
It was also in 1896 that Marian MacDowell purchased an abandoned 75 acre
farm in Peterborough, New Hampshire for $1,500 which they named Hillcrest
Farms. The beautiful woodlands and
fields proved to be the perfect environment for MacDowell, and his composing
flourished in the setting.
Main house at Hillcrest Farms
MacDowell's log cabin retreat;
Marian MacDowell in the foreground
In 1899,
Marian completed a one-room log cabin as a secluded retreat for her husband to
compose away from all the activity at the main house at Hillcrest.
MacDowell’s output during these years was significant and included two
piano concertos, two orchestral suites, four symphonic poems, and four piano sonatas,
as well as many songs and piano transcriptions. His best known work today is To a Wild Rose, from his piano suite Woodland Sketches.
In 1904, MacDowell was one of the first seven people chosen for
membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters. It was at the same time that he and Marian
first discussed the idea of creating an artists’ colony at their summer home in
Peterborough. The year 1904 also proved
to be a tragic turning point in MacDowell’s life. He resigned abruptly from his position at
Columbia University and soon after was injured in an accident where he was run
over by a Hansom cab. By this time, he
began showing significant signs of dementia, and he was no longer able to
compose or teach.
Marian MacDowell deeded the Peterborough property to the newly formed
Edward MacDowell Association in 1907, founding the artists’ colony she and her
husband had envisioned a few years early.
Edward MacDowell died on January 23, 1908 and was buried on the
property.
Marian spent the next 25 years of her life leading the MacDowell Colony,
relying chiefly on donations for its operation.
Early supporters included Andrew Carnegie, J. P. Morgan, and former
president Grover Cleveland. A talented
pianist, she resumed her career giving recitals and performances as a means of
raising money to support the Colony. She
became the foremost interpreter of her husband’s music. It was for one of these recitals that Frances
Glessner had purchased tickets.
In 1912, Marian MacDowell purchased an additional 184 acres of land in
Peterborough, and in time the Colony grew to include 32 artists studios, all
based on the initial log cabin built for Edward. Each cabin was secluded and out of view of
the rest, providing the optimal working environment in which he had
thrived. Marian MacDowell died in 1956
at the age of 98 and was interred beside her husband at the Colony.
The MacDowell Colony continues to thrive today, and is one of the
leading artists’ colonies in the country.
Nearly 7,000 artists have been supported in residence, including more than
60 who have been awarded Pulitzer Prizes.
Among the notable works created by artists while in residence were Porgy by DuBose Heyward (upon which Porgy & Bess is based); Our Town by Thornton Wilder; Leonard
Bernstein’s Mass; and Appalachian Spring by Aaron
Copland. The MacDowell Colony was
designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962 and was awarded the National
Medal of Arts in 1997. For more
information, visit www.macdowellcolony.org.
(Selected images courtesy of the MacDowell Colony)
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