MacDowell found that the confining labors at Darmstadt were telling
on his strength, so he gave up the position and remained in Frankfort,
dividing his time between private teaching and composing. He hoped
to secure a few paying concert engagements, as those he had already
filled had brought in no money.
One day, as he sat dreaming before his piano, some one knocked at
the door, and the next instant in walked his master Raff, of whom the
young American stood in great awe. In the course of a few moments,
Raff suddenly asked what he had been writing. In his confusion the boy
stammered he had been working on a concerto. When Raff started to go,
he turned back and told the boy to bring the concerto to him the next
Sunday. As even the first movement was not finished, its author set to
work with vigor. When Sunday came only the first movement was ready.
Postponing the visit a week or two, he had time to complete the work,
which stands today, as he wrote it then, with scarcely a correction.
At Raff's suggestion, MacDowell visited Liszt in the spring of 1882.
The dreaded encounter with the master proved to be a delightful
surprise, as Liszt treated him with much kindness and courtesy.
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