Daniel Gregory Mason (1873-1953) was an American composer, critic and teacher. Born into a distinguished musical family, he studied with John Knowles Paine and later taught for many years at Columbia University.

His works include symphonies, chamber music, piano pieces and songs. He was also a widely read writer on music, representing a cultivated and often conservative strand of American musical thought.

Mason’s music is tonal, carefully crafted and rooted in the European classical tradition. It favours form, clarity and seriousness over flamboyant modern experiment.

Although his reputation has faded, Mason was an important figure in American academic and concert life. His music stands for an era when American composers were still negotiating inheritance, independence and good manners.