Amy Beach

-
Amy Beach is considered to be the earliest American female composer of enormous success. She wrote over 150 works which include piano pieces, chamber music, a piano concerto, an opera and a symphony. Her work was held up as a beacon of American accomplishment. Although she was valued by the press and society as a symbol of women's progress, she herself did not speak very openly about this aspect of her career. 

Amy Beach Biography - Childhood, Life Achievements & Timeline
Amy Beach (1867 - 1944)
Image source

At the age of 17 she performed Chopin's Piano Concerto in F minor with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The next year, aged 18, she married Dr. Harrison H.A. Beach - an eminent surgeon, Harvard University professor and devoted amateur musician. Her husband objected to the idea of her pursuing a career as a concert pianist, but did encourage her to compose. So Amy embarked on a rigorous course of self-instruction in musical theory and composition. This was unusual, given that most American composers travelled to Europe to study further, as Edward MacDowell had done, to study with Franz Liszt in Weimar.  

Photo Gallery | Amy Beach (1867-1944)
Amy Beach
Image source

Amy Beach's Gaelic Symphony was the first published symphonic work written by a woman (in America at least, if not the world) and was the first performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. To write a symphony in the 19th century was still very prestigious and was recognised as the apex of compositional practice. 

Listen here to her Gaelic Symphony:



Dr Beach died in June 1910. The subsequent year, Mrs Beach resumed her career as a concert pianist and toured Europe and the United States with great success, whilst also continuing to compose.

Listen to her Piano Concerto in C sharp Minor dedicated to the pianist Teresa Carreño (featured previously on DHM):




This blog is intended to be educational and to share knowledge about music. Daily Hit of Music does not claim to own anything contained in this post and declares its sources openly. 
The following sources were used for this blog post: accompanyNH, Encyclopaedia Britannica
Image sources can be found in the image captions. 
Recordings can be found on YouTube by clicking the 'DHM YouTube Playlist' links.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

O-Daiko

-
Image
Daily Hit of Music's 100th post! Thank you for reading our posts on Daily Hit of Music. We hope you're enjoying them and here's to the next 100! Eitetsu Hayashi is an acclaimed Japanese musician best known for his solo performance work in taiko. Taiko are a broad rang of Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside of Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various Japanese drums called wadaiko . The process of constructing taiko varies between manufacturers, and the preparation of both the drum body and skin can take several years depending on the method.  Eitetsu Hayashi performing in 2001 Image source   In feudal Japan, taiko were often used to motivate troops, call out orders or announcements, and set a marching pace; marches usually being set to six paces per beat of the drum.  Watch Ei-tetsu Hayashi's exhilarating performance on a huge o-daiku barrel drum. He performs alongside the Shamisen master, Sh
Read more

Vivaldi: Vedrò con mio diletto

-
Image
As well as being the prototype of the modern violin virtuoso - expanding the technical possibilities of the instrument - Antonio Vivaldi also wrote some beautiful vocal music.  Antonio Vivaldi (1678 - 1741) Image source The aria "Vedrò con mio diletto", has became a famous concert piece to sing, especially for countertenors, but was originally intended to be sung by the character  Anastasio in Vivaldi's opera 'Giustino'.  Listen to it here: DHM YouTube Italian (original) Text: Vedrò con mio diletto L'alma dell'alma mia Il core del mio cor pien di contento. E se dal caro oggetto lungi convien che sia Sospirero penando ogni momento... Text translation:  I will see with joy, the soul of my soul heart of my heart full of content. And if from my dear object I be far away I will sigh, suffering every moment...  This blog is intended to be educational and to share knowledge about music. Daily Hit of Music does not claim to own anything contained in this post and
Read more

Germaine Tailleferre (1892 - 1983)

-
Image
Tailleferre - Sonata for Harp  - 3. Perpetuum mobile ( perpetual motion) Germaine Tailleferre (1892 - 1983) Listen to this elegant and surprising 'perpetual motion' movement from Tailleferre's sonata for solo harp, played by Maria Graf: YouTube Spotify The two other movements of this sonata are also definitely worth listening to. You can find them on the  DHM playlist  as well as all other featured music on this blog. Germaine Tailleferre was born on April 19, 1892 to family living in the outskirts of Paris. Despite exposing their daughter to music from an early age, Tailleferre's parents considered music to be an inappropriate activity for a young lady. Eventually, the young Germaine pursued serious studies at the Paris Conservatoire where she studied accompaniment, harmony and counterpoint, taking first prizes in each.  Tailleferre was the only woman in the post-WWI group of French composers known as Les Six , where she was encouraged a
Read more