Amy Beach, "Gaelic" Symphony

Amy Beach is a name that might not be familiar to you. She was
born in 1867 and died in 1944, and her life was one of the most
fascinating and varied in musical history. She was a child
prodigy, became a successful pianist, and then pivoted to
composing at her husband’s request. She was one of the first
successful composers without any training from Europeans, and
when her Gaelic Symphony was performed for the first time in
1896, it became the first symphony by an American woman to be
published or performed. This symphony, and Beach’s whole career,
is inextricably linked with the history and mores of the time,
from the influence of Dvorak on American music, to Beach’s stop
and start relationship to performing. The Gaelic symphony is a
remarkable amalgamation of American symphonic brilliance, some
European influence(especially from Dvorak), and the music of
Beach’s own heritage. It’s a symphony that was very popular in
its time and then was forgotten, but now is finding itself on the
stage more and more often. This week on the show we’ll go through
this beautiful symphony, a pillar of early American classical
music, and a piece that certainly deserves to be better known
than it is. Join us!