Mr.Krehbiel, in the _Tribune_, praised the concerto as "a splendid composition, so full of poetry, so full of vigor, as to tempt the assertion that it must be placed at the head of all works of its kind produced by either a native or adopted citizen of America"; and he confessed to having "derived keener pleasure from the work of the young American than from the experienced and famous Russian"-- Tchaikovsky, whose Fifth Symphony was performed then for the first time in New York.

"Several enthusiastic and unquestionably sincere recalls," concluded the writer, "were the tokens of gratitude and delight with which his townspeople rewarded him." A month later MacDowell played the same concerto in Boston, at a Symphony concert, under Mr.Gericke; his performance of it evoked "rapt attention," and "the very heartiest of plaudits, in which both orchestra and audience joined." In the summer of that year (1889) MacDowell and his wife went abroad.
He had been invited to take part in an "American Concert" at the Paris Exposition, and on July 12, under Mr.Van der Stucken's direction, he played his second concerto.[4] After a short stay on the continent, he returned with his wife to America.
[4] The rest of the programme, it may be interesting to note, contained Arthur Foote's overture, "In the Mountains," Van der Stucken's suite, "The Tempest," Chadwick's "Melpomene" overture, Paine's "Oedipus Tyrannus" prelude, a romance and polonaise for violin and orchestra by Henry Holden Huss, and songs by Margaret Ruthven Lang, Dudley Buck, Chadwick, Foote, Van der Stucken.

The concert ended with an "_ouverture festivale sur l'Hymne Americaine_, 'The Star Spangled Banner,'" by Dudley Buck.
MacDowell found in Boston a considerable field for his activity as pianist and teacher.

He took many private pupils, and he made, during the eight years that he remained there, many public appearances in concert.

In composition, these years were the most fruitful of his life.