This is the most frequently played of MacDowell's two concertos for pianoforte. It is much the finer of the two, being constructed with greater skill and artistic confidence than the _First Concerto, Op. 15_, and of all the works of MacDowell's early period it is the most enduring. Like its predecessor, it is one of the composer's few compositions that have no definitely indicated poetic content. As a whole it is a work full of feeling, brilliantly cohesive and logical, with good material that is handled with confident skill, but it is not to be compared with even the small works of the composer's mature period, which commences with his _Opus_ 47. Its character, however, is altogether strong and virile, containing many passages of pure tonal beauty and eloquent expressiveness. The orchestra is written for with skill and imagination and is on equal terms with the solo instrument. The only fault of the work is that its pianoforte part is far too continuously brilliant. The concerto was enthusiastically received on MacDowell's first performances of it in New York in March, 1889, and in Boston a month later. On July 12th of the same year he played it in Paris. His playing of it at a concert of the New York Philharmonic Society on December 14th, 1894, was a memorable one and created a furore, and he not only had to bow several times after each movement, but at the end was given a storm of cheering and recalled again and again to receive the acknowledgments of the Philharmonic audience, which could be very critical when occasion demanded. On May 14th, 1903, MacDowell visited London and played the concerto at a concert given by the venerable Royal Philharmonic Society held at Queen's Hall. The work had been first played in London (Crystal Palace) three years previously, by Carreño. OPUS 24. FOUR PIECES, FOR PIANOFORTE. _Composed, Wiesbaden, Early Summer_, 1887. _First Published_, 1887 (J. Hainauer. British Empire--Winthrop Rogers, Ltd.). 1. _Humoresque._ 2. _March._ 3. _Cradle Song._ 4. _Czardas_ (_Friska_). The interval of time between the preceding work and these pieces is explained by the fact that MacDowell and his wife had been travelling, and the latter had passed through a dangerous illness at Wiesbaden. The _Four Pieces for Pianoforte_ (__ 24) were among the first productions of the composer after his return to Wiesbaden, and date from that delightful period when he lived with his wife in a cottage in the woods, some way from the town. The pieces under notice are tuneful and well written, but quite devoid of the individuality that distinguishes the composer's later works. The brilliant _Czardas_ was revised by MacDowell in his later period. OPUS 25. SECOND SYMPHONIC POEM, LANCELOT AND ELAINE, FOR FULL ORCHESTRA. _Composed, Wiesbaden_, 1887-8. _First American Performance at Boston, Mass., January 10th_, 1890, _at a Symphony Concert Conducted by Nikisch. First Published_, 1888 (J. Hainauer).