A student of Attwood and Corfe in London Pierson also studied in Germany with Rinck and Reissiger and Tomasek in Czechoslovakia. Though an Englishman who was unable to overcome the inflection of the language in his German songs, Pierson should be considered a German composer who was appreciated in his adopted land and almost mocked in the country of his birth. Pierson successfully produced and published an opera "Leila" with a libretto by his wife. He also came to public acclaim with his incidental music for Book II of "Faust." Pierson's larger works are clearly the more interesting of his instrumental pieces demonstrating colorful instrumentation and, like his songs, complex melodies with abbreviated motifs. Pierson is most important for his mastery of the German liede as well as the Male Chorus. Melodies were still complex but within the context of the songs the lines were always interesting demonstrating a freedom of style rarely so easily displayed with such consistency. With his use of English poetry for textual material, and his adherence to linguistic rhythms, Pierson's songs were not terribly popular in England primarily because of his non-conventional musical style, that is to say non-conventional in the ears of the English. Pierson composed approximately one hundred songs including "All My Heart's Thine Own," and "Heimweh, Ruhe." Interestingly, two of his songs were popular during World War I: "O Deutschland hoch in Ehren," and "Hurrah for Merry England." ~ Keith Johnson, Rovi