William Mason (Jan. 24, 1829 - July 14, 1908) was a composer and pianist, born in Boston, Massachusetts. He grew up in a musical family; his father Lowell Mason was an important figure in church music, and his brother Henry Mason was a co-founder of the piano manufacturers Mason and Hamlin.Mason grew up playing the piano, but didn't start serious studies until 1845, with Henry Schmidt at the Boston Academy of Music. Just four years later he set for Europe, and ended up studying with Ignaz Moscheles, and Franz Liszt. He returned to the States in 1854, intent on building his career as a concert pianist. After a year however, he wasn't satisfied, and relocated to New York City, where he focused on composing more.

Silver Spring , written in the early half of the 1850s, starts with a growl in the lower register of the piano, and climbs to the upper register for a bright trill, and repeats this a few times before fully opening up into undulating arpeggios in the left hand, and a sweet, if  tad wistful at times, melody in the right. The colors of this work give it a very Lisztian feel!

Here are some recordings of this piece to enjoy!

Kenneth Boulton
Ivan Davis