That MacDowell was greater than is generally recognised in England is an opinion that increasingly forces itself on all who study and become closely acquainted with his best work. He is generally admitted to be great in small, lyrical forms, but it is insufficient to regard him merely as a miniaturist. The form of the well-known _Sea Pieces_ (_Op_. 55) for pianoforte is small, for example, and yet the material is big and grand enough for symphonic work. The equally well-known _Woodland Sketches, Op. 51_, contain pieces of charming and delicate conception, as well as broader writing, and can hardly be considered as the products of a restricted inspiration. The poetry is so unmistakably fresh and individual, and the atmosphere so vividly suggested, that the ability of the composer to condense his material into such small compass is remarkable to even the most casual observer. Far from shewing weakness, the small form of MacDowell's compositions is a proof of his strength, for few other composers have been able to suggest such big scenes, often of far-reaching and wide significance, on such small canvasses as those on which he painted his tone poems. The outstanding reason for his preference for writing albums of short pieces (partly due, no doubt, to lack of time for more extended work) was that he loved to seize a passing impression or inspiration and to express it in music before it faded from his mind. Nearly all his small pieces are musical photographs of the fancies of an impressionable and sensitive imagination. The criticism sometimes heard that he was only good in small forms is, however, based on a fallacy due to an imperfect acquaintance with his work and is completely shattered by the indisputable greatness of his two concertos, of his four pianoforte sonatas and of the _"Indian" Suite_ for orchestra. The sonatas, although not all of equal value, comprise some of the finest pianoforte music in existence. They are notable for their passion, breadth of style, massive momentum, dramatic power and eloquence of expression. Admirers think them only equalled by such creations as Beethoven's _Sonata Appassionata_. It is curious that MacDowell's sonatas are infrequently performed, for they bring the resources of the modern pianoforte into full and sonorous play, sweeping the whole of the keyboard with their stirring expressions. It is possible that as they are not in general demand, the average virtuoso does not consider their technical difficulties worth conquering. Nay, it is even doubtful whether the pianist's mind could always rise to the heights of fervent poetry and imagination whither MacDowell was often carried and the memories of which are embodied in his finest music.