“After her debut, [as a soloist with the Boston Symphony
Orchestra] she sought advice from Wilhelm Gericke, conductor of the Boston
Symphony, about a composition teacher. He recommended that she teach herself.
Such a suggestion may have been influenced by public perception that although
men wrote out of their intellects, women wrote from their feelings and
therefore would not respond to training.”
- from Women and Music: A History
a little about Amy Beach...
Amy Beach was first and foremost a pianist. Having studied
under the tutelage of two German pianists who had studied with Liszt, her
virtuosity was unquestioned as was her ever growing fame by the age of 18. She
debuted with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1885 and was regionally gaining
popularity as an "outstanding musical talent". Of course the customs
of 1885 could not be ignored. She was soon married and came to an agreement
with her husband only to perform for small concerts. With the halt on performing,
she focused entirely on composition. She composed many works for voice, a piano
concerto, the Gaelic Symphony (the first American symphony performed from a
women composer!), solo piano works, and many chamber works, including the
Sonata for Violin and Piano.
what to expect on Friday...
I suspect many of you will be as blown away by this music as
we are. This sonata has 4 movements (or complete sections). Each movement is
completely different, having its own mood, character, and purpose in the
overall progression of the sonata. It is at times tragic, sexy, hilarious,
exciting, introspective, explosive, unsure, elated, extremely passionate, and
overall incredibly entertaining. The copious amounts of sounds and colors that
she writes for our two instruments are absolutely breathtaking.
We can't wait to share this with you!
See you Friday at 7:00pm!
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