Amy Beach and Her Chamber Music: Biography, Documents, Style FROM THE PUBLISHER
Born at a time when women were excluded from the profession of music composition, Amy Beach's reputation as a composer and a virtuoso pianist was prominent. As an American composer at the turn of the century, she is esteemed as the first woman to write a symphony and a mass. Throughout her life, she won acclaim in the United States, Canada, and Europe as a prominent composer and concert pianist. This book begins with a lengthy biography describing Beach's personal and professional life. It is enriched with the correspondence of friends and colleagues such as Foote, Chadwick, Paine, Holmes, and Longfellow, and numerous photographs. From beginning to end, her life is documented with critical reviews and original papers from the Library of Congress and University of New Hampshire collections. Beach's chamber music works are masterpieces. Described individually, each score and manuscript is reviewed theoretically and historically. An extensive catalog contains the most complete list of all published and unpublished works with performance comments. This book has been created for the musician, historian, and women's studies enthusiast. Its intention is to stimulate renewed interest in both American music and the life of a unique woman.
Author Biography: Jeanell Wise Brown (DMA, piano, University of Maryland) has been a free-lance pianist in Washington, D.C., as well as coach/accompanist for several American opera premiers with the Maryland Opera Studio, appears often in recitals and competitions with vocalists and instrumentalists, and maintains a teaching studio.
FROM THE CRITICS
Pan Pipes Of Sigma Alpha Iota
...information-packed and rich in illustrations...belongs in every serious collection of women in music..
Booknews
Beach was a prominent American composer and virtuoso pianist who was the first woman to write a symphony and a mass. The biography documents her personal and professional life using critical reviews, original papers from the Library of Congress, and correspondence with contemporaries such as Holmes and Longfellow. Brown (piano, Tennessee Temple U.) analyzes Beach's chamber music from theoretical and historical perspectives. Includes scores, manuscripts, and a catalog of all published and unpublished works with performance comments. Includes b&w photos. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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