"To a Wild Rose" is the first piece from ''

Woodland Sketches ''Woodland Sketches'', Opus number, Op. 51, is a Suite (music), suite of ten short piano pieces by the American composer Edward MacDowell. It was written during an 1896 stay at MacDowell's summer retreat in Peterborough, New Hampshire, where ea ...

'', Op. 51, by the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

composer

Edward MacDowell Edward Alexander MacDowell (December 18, 1860January 23, 1908) was an American composer and pianist of the late Romantic period. He was best known for his second piano concerto and his piano suites ''Woodland Sketches'', ''Sea Pieces'' and ''Ne ...

. It was completed in 1896 and first published by Breitkopf and Härtel.

Background

"To a Wild Rose", one of the European-trained MacDowell's most well-known and loved pieces, is part of the larger Woodland Sketches, finished in 1896 for solo piano. The composer incorporated certain Native American themes into it.

Alan Levy Alan Levy (10 February 1932 – 2 April 2004) was an American author. Life Alan Levy was born in New York City in 1932 and educated at Brown and Columbia universities. In 1952 at Brown, he co-wrote an original Brownbrokers musical titled ''An ...

, the critic and biographer, wrote:

Marian recalled how her husband would regularly write a few measures during breakfast — "like exercise" — before going off to the cabin. Normally, MacDowell discarded such fragments, and this particular morning he crumpled the paper and tossed it at the fireplace. He happened to miss the target, however, and rather than summarily throwing it away, Marian later picked up the paper, uncrumpled it, and looked it over. She played it at the piano and decided to keep it. When Edward later returned from the cabin she showed it to him and said: "This is a charming little melody." Edward looked at it anew and agreed, "It is not bad — very simple. It makes me think of wild roses near the cabin."

However, Marian's version of the story is slightly different. She wrote that the fragment made her husband think of their "log cabin" — as opposed to "cabin" — which was not built until 1898, two years after the Sketches were published. The composer's love for roses was so great that he was buried under a boulder, around which many rose plants grew.

Performance

Numerous arrangements of the piece have been made. Though the original was for solo piano, it has been arranged for two sopranos, alto and piano by Hermann Hagedorn. Additionally, Nat King Cole played his own version of the song. Levy said that the piece is best played by children, as they would not embellish it heavily but perform it quite simply.

In popular culture

It is a recurring theme in the 1941 movie

Penny Serenade ''Penny Serenade'' is a 1941 American melodrama film directed by George Stevens starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant as a loving couple who must overcome adversity to keep their marriage and raise a child. Grant was nominated for the Academy Award ...

. The pop song "Am I Ready", written by

Roy C. Bennett Roy C. Bennett (August 12, 1918 – July 2, 2015) was an American songwriter known for the songs he wrote with Sid Tepper, which spawned several hits for Elvis Presley. Between 1945 and 1970, Tepper and Bennett published over 300 songs. Biograp ...

and

Sid Tepper Sid Tepper (June 25, 1918 – April 24, 2015) was an American songwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with Roy C. Bennett, which spawned several hits for Elvis Presley. Between 1945 and 1970, Tepper and Bennett published over 300 son ...

and recorded by Elvis Presley in 1966 for the soundtrack of the film ''

Spinout Spinout or Spin Out may refer to: *Corporate spin-off, also known as a spin-out, a type of corporate action where a company turns a portion of itself into a separate business *Spinout (driving), failure when braking Entertainment * ''Spinout (fil ...

'', is based on the melody of this piece.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Compositions by Edward MacDowell 1896 compositions Piano compositions by American composers Compositions for solo piano Suites (music)