From the Press of A. P. Schmidt

John W. Metcalf (1856–1926) was a composer of art songs, popular ballads, and piano music who became the first professor of music at Stanford University. Beginning in 1899, Arthur P. Schmidt published more than one hundred of Metcalf’s compositions, many in multiple editions so as to accommodate different voice types. 

Such was the case with “Absent” (1899) which turned out to be an all-time bestseller not only for Metcalf but also for Schmidt himself. With lyrics written by Catherine Young Glen, the song sold hundreds of thousands of copies in the decades that followed. On August 28, 1915, Musical America even placed “Absent” among the two dozen songs listed in “Some Compositions by Americans which are Worthy of Recognition” (p. 12), an honor which further suggests its enduring appeal.

The runaway financial success of songs like “Absent” may have encouraged Schmidt to continue investing in the publication of more ambitious works—such as Beach’s Piano Concerto, the very next year—from which he would not have expected to profit.

🔎 View full score at the International Music Score Library Project.