WorldView Episode 03: Amy Marcy Beach
By Hinke Younger
Eighteen-year-old American pianist Amy Marcy Beach had a growing audience in both the U.S. and Germany when she was forced to transition towards composition. Though she had always considered herself a performer, Beach quickly became one of the most respected American composers of her time—and was the first American woman to publish a full length symphony.
Amy Beach was born in New Hampshire in 1867. She was a child prodigy in a long line of talented musicians. She taught herself to read by age three, composed multiple waltzes by age four, and began piano lessons at age six. Beach made her concert debut at age 16 to positive critical review; however, her performances were cut short by her marriage to Henry Harris Beach in 1885. A physician and lecturer twenty-four years her senior, Dr. Beach immediately requested that she limit her public performances and no longer contribute financially to their marriage. Thereafter, Amy Beach gave only two annual recitals (with all proceeds going to charity) and instead shifted her focus towards composition.
Beach wrote hundreds of compositions during her marriage, including Symphony in E Minor: Gaelic, the first published symphony by an American woman. She was a self-taught composer having had no formal European training. This is reflected in many of her works, which have a distinctly different style than most compositions written in her time period; however, her early works do have some elements of Romantic and Classical inspiration and are often compared to those of Brahms. Beach moved away from this style in her later years and experimented with atonality and diversifying her instrumentation.
Amy Beach returned to Europe to re-establish her reputation as a performer after her husband’s death in 1910. She spent the rest of her life performing in the winter and composing in the summer, including as composer-in-residence at St. Bartholomew’s Episocal Church. Additionally, Beach served as President of the Board at the New England Conservatory of Music and used her status to encourage the careers of younger musicians. Beach died in 1944.
Her Gaelic Symphony, the first symphony written and published by an American woman, premiered in 1896 with Emil Paur conducting the Boston Symphony. In this episode of WorldView, the piece is performed by Karl Krueger and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
| WorldView Episode Three Playlist:
Amy BEACH (1867-1944), “Symphony in E. Minor; Gaelic”, {Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Karl Krueger (cond)} – Bridge Bright SHENG (1955-), “Seven Tunes Heard in China”, {Yo-Yo Ma} – Sony Classical Ethel SMYTH (1858-1944), “The March of the Women”, {The Plymouth Festival Chorus and Orchestra, Philip Brunelle (cond)} – Virgin Classics |
WorldView is a classical music radio show featuring composers from everywhere in the world – except Western Europe. Tune in to hear works by lesser-known artists such as Gabriela Montero and Bright Sheng, and widen your knowledge of classical music. Hinke Younger hosts each week’s episode of WorldView on Mondays at 9AM and again at 6PM on Charlottesvilleclassical.org.
