Since Louis Moreau Gottschalk died decades before the advent of film, he had no way of knowing that his salon piece &The Dying Poet} would become a mainstay among silent-movie pianists who sought to provide a sentimental accompaniment to the action onscreen. In the Victorian spirit of its title, this short piece is based on a tearjerker of a theme that is restated in a throbbing fashion with repeated notes. One of Gottschalk's most popular works, The Dying Poet was often featured by Gottschalk on his own recital programs. It was written in 1863, shortly before Gottschalk had to flee the country to avoid the aftereffects of a scandal that arose from his illicit affair with a student at the Oakland Female Seminary. The work attained popularity not only in the U.S. but also in South America, where the composer lived a peripatetic existence for the rest of his life.

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