Amy Marcy Beach

Short biography Amy Marcy Beach was born on 5 September 1867 in Henniker, New Hampshire, and died on 27 December 1944 in New York City. She displayed exceptional musical talent from an early age and received piano tuition as a child, including from Ernst Perabo and Carl Baermann in Boston. Her compositional training was largely self-directed, supplemented by lessons in harmony with Junius W. Hill. Following her marriage in 1885 to the physician Henry Harris Aubrey Beach, she temporarily withdrew from public concert life; after his death in 1910 she travelled to Europe, where she also performed as a pianist.

Historical placement Amy Beach is regarded as one of the most important figures of American late Romanticism and was the first American woman composer to have a symphony published and performed. Her style is rooted in the European Romantic tradition, drawing in particular on the influence of Brahms and Chopin, combined with an occasional recourse to American folk-song material. As a member of the so-called Second New England School (also known as the Boston Six), she occupied a distinctive position as the only woman in that circle. Her work made a significant contribution to the establishment of an independent American art-music tradition.

Personal connections Ernst Perabo was one of her early piano teachers in Boston. Carl Baermann also gave her piano lessons in Boston. Junius W. Hill taught her harmony.

Important works

Gaelic Symphony h-Moll – symphony (op. 32, 1896)
Piano Concerto cis-Moll – concerto for piano and orchestra (op. 45, 1900)
Mass in E-flat major – mass for soloists, chorus and orchestra (op. 5, 1892)
Sonata for Piano and Violin – sonata (op. 34, 1896)
Piano Quintet fis-Moll – chamber music (op. 67, 1907)
Drei Lieder, including "The Year's at the Spring" – song (op. 44, no. 1, 1900)
Ballad für Klavier – piano piece (op. 6, 1894)
Theme and Variations for Flute and String Quartet – chamber music (op. 80, 1916)
String Quartet A-Dur – string quartet (op. 89, 1929)
Canticle of the Sun – chorus and orchestra (op. 123, 1928)