Presents
Amy Beach
Violin Sonata in a minor, Op.34
Amy Beach (1867-1944) née Cheney was born in Henniker, New Hampshire. She studied piano with several at the time well-known piano teachers, including Ernst Perabo and Kal Baermann, but with regard to composition she was almost entirely self-taught. She made her concert debut at the age of 16. Two years later, she married a physician 24 years her senior, Dr.Henry Harris Aubrey Beach. During her lifetime, she was known neither by her maiden name nor her own given name but my the moniker “Mrs. H.H.A. Beach.” That this was so, one must remember that this was the practice at the time and even the most celebrated actresses in Britain and America were known by their husband’s names. Hence, all of her compositions appeared under the name of Mrs. H.H.A. Beach and it is only recently in more egalitarian times that she has finally become known under her own name, Amy Beach. For social propriety’s sake, her husband, as a member of Boston’s upper crust, insisted that she limit her concert performances to one a year. It was only after his death in 1910 that she embarked on a concert tour of both Europe and America. She wrote in most genres and was the first American woman to write a symphonic work. Ultimately, she was considered one of America’s leading composers and the only female composer to be ranked alongside of Arthur Foote, George Chadwick, Edward MacDowell, and Horatio Parker. Her writing is in a late Romantic idiom, showing the influence of Brahms and and Cesar Franck.
Her Sonata in a minor for Violin and Piano dates from 1897. It was premiered in the same year with her at the piano and Franz Kneisl, concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra as soloist. The music is valedictory but not without passion and is influenced by both Brahms and Cesar Franck. The opening movement, Allegro moderato, in an ominous fashion, dark and autumnal. Next comes a Scherzo, which as you might expect, is brighter and more upbeat, complete with contrasting trio. The third movement, marked Largo con dolore, begins with a lengthy introduction in the piano before the violin presents the mournful, but also passionate, main theme. The finale, Allegro con fuoco, explodes in dramatic fashion, full of fire with occasional more lyrical interludes which release the tension.
This is a major work which surely would have entered the recital repertoire had it been composed by a central European male. It is undoubtedly an important work and deserves concert performance. Long out of print and unavailable, we are pleased to reintroduce it once again.
Parts: $24.95
