Florence Price (1887-1953)

Composer of the Week Podcast vor 3 Monaten

Kate Molleson explores the life and music of Florence Price with Samantha Ege.

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Kate Molleson explores the life and music of Florence Price,
joined by pianist and scholar Samantha Ege. From her childhood in
Little Rock, where family, education and the realities of racial
segregation shaped her early ambitions, Price’s story unfolds
through persistence, reinvention and growing recognition. Moving
through her years of study and early career, we hear how she drew
on African American musical traditions while navigating the
social and political pressures around her. In Chicago, she found
a vibrant artistic community and new opportunities, leading to
orchestral success and national visibility. In her later years,
recognition remained uneven, and her music continued to evolve in
the face of resistance and neglect, with works still coming to
light long after her death.

Music featured includes: Negro Folksongs in Counterpoint: No. 4
Shortnin’ Bread Violin Concerto No. 2 Symphony No. 4 in D minor
(extract) Scenes in Tin Can Alley: Children at Play Fantasie
Nègre No. 1 in E minor Fantasie Nègre No. 2 in G minor String
Quartet No. 2 in A minor – Finale Concert Overture No. 2
Adoration Fantasie No. 2 in F sharp minor A Day in the Life of a
Washerwoman Fantasie No. 1 in G minor The Goblin and the Mosquito
Songs to the Dark Virgin Ethiopia’s Shadow in America (extracts)
Symphony No. 1 in E minor (extract) Symphony No. 1 in E minor –
Juba Dance Piano Concerto in One Movement (extract) Sympathy My
Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord The Oak Resignation Violin
Concerto No. 1 in D major – Allegro The Mississippi River
(extracts) Fantasie Nègre No. 3 in F minor

Presented by Kate Molleson Produced by Ellie Ajao for BBC Audio
Wales and West

For full track listings, including artist and recording details,
and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after
broadcast) head to the series page for Florence Price (1887-1953)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002vw41.

And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve
featured on Composer of the Week here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z