else might take them seriously had never occurred to me." A year
later, upon Liszt's recommendation, the suite and its successor, the
"Second Modern Suite," op. 14, were published at Leipzig by the famous
house of Breitkopf and Härtel. "Your two pianoforte suites," wrote
Liszt from Budapest, in February of that year, "are admirable. I
accept the dedication of your concerto with sincere pleasure and
thanks." The suites were the first of MacDowell's works to appear in
print.[1]

[1] The "Two Old Songs," which bear an earlier opus number,--9,--were
composed at a much later period--a fact which is betrayed by their
style.

The death of Raff on June 25, 1882, brought to MacDowell his first
profound sorrow. There was a deep attachment between pupil and master,
and MacDowell felt in Raff's death the loss of a sincere friend, and,
as he later came to appreciate, a powerful ally. The influential part
which Raff bore in turning MacDowell's aims definitely and permanently
toward creative rather than pianistic activity could scarcely be
overestimated. When he first went to Paris, and during the later years
in Germany, there had been little serious thought on his part, or on
the part of his family, concerning his composition; his evident talent
for piano-playing had persistently overshadowed his creative gifts,
and had made it seem that his inevitable career was that of a
virtuoso. As he wrote in after years: "I had acquired from early
boyhood the idea that it was expected of me to become a pianist, and
every moment spent in 'scribbling' seemed to be stolen from the more
legitimate work of piano practice." It was Raff--Raff, who said to him
once: "Your music will be played when mine is forgotten"--who opened
his eyes.