Amy Beach (1867-1944) was the first successful American woman composer of classical music.
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Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan, and this is Encyclopedia Womannica.
All month we’re talking about Musicians, women whose musical talents shaped history and the music industry.
For me, summer always makes me think of classical music. I went to Interlochen Arts Camp for seven summers growing up and I have incredibly fond memories of attending classical concerts each Sunday evening, performed by an orchestra of high school aged-campers. So I am extra excited to introduce our musician of the day today. I’m ashamed to say that I didn’t know much about her before putting this episode together.
Today’s musician was the first successful American woman composer of classical music. Her Gaelic Symphony was the first symphony published by a woman in the U.S. She was a prodigy, an incredible pianist and musical genius. We’re talking about Amy Beach.
Amy Marcy Cheney was born on September 5, 1867 in Henniker, New Hampshire. Amy came from a prominent New England clan, and musical ambition ran in the family. Amy’s mother, Clara Imogene Cheney sang and played the piano.
From an extremely young age, it was clear that Amy was a prodigy. By the time she turned one, Amy had memorized forty songs. By the time she was three, she could read. By the following year, she was composing simple waltzes.
At the ripe age of six years old, Amy began studying the piano in earnest with her mother and a year later performed in a public recital.
Around that time, Amy’s family moved to Boston where she continued her musical studies. Her first major concert, at just 16 years old, saw Amy performing at Boston's Music Hall, where she played Chopin's Rondo in E-flat. Two years later, in 1885, she played for the first time with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
That same year marked another milestone: Amy got married. She wed a surgeon named Henry Harris Aubrey Beach, who was 24 years her senior. Henry preferred that Amy stop doing so much performing. She heeded his request and instead focused on musical composition.
Despite having just one year of formal training in composition, Amy found relatively quick success as a composer.
In 1892, Amy’s Mass in E-flat was performed by Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society. That first success was followed by more and Amy’s fame grew across the country.
She began to receive commissions for work. That same year, Amy wrote an aria that became the first composition by a woman to be played by the Symphony Society of New York. She also composed a piece called the Festival Jubilate for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and a piece called Song of Welcome for the 1898 Trans-Mississippi Exposition in Omaha, Nebraska.
During this period, Amy was also preparing to make musical history as she composed what would be the very first symphony written and performed by an American woman. On October 30, 1896, Amy premiered her Gaelic Symphony in Boston to rave reviews, though many critics spent significant time discussing how her existence as a woman related to the piece.
Following the premier of the Gaelic Symphony, Amy went on to compose a much loved piano concerto in 1900, and a Sonata for Piano and Violin that found particular acclaim in Europe. Famed composer and pianist Teresa Carreno, who performed the Sonata for Piano and Violin, wrote to Amy afterwards and said, “I assure you that I never had a greater pleasure in my life than the one I had in working out your beautiful sonata and having the good luck to bring it before the German public…”
In 1910, Amy’s husband died. She had abided by his request that she not do much performing while he was alive, but after his death she returned to the stage. Later that year, she traveled to Germany to perform, where she earned positive reviews for her playing and compositions.
Amy returned state-side in 1914. She split her time between composing and performing in concerts. She also sought to help others who came after her. She was part of the Music Teachers National Association and was the first president and a founding member of the Society of American Women Composers.
From 1921 on, Amy also called another kind of organization home. She became a fellow at the MacDowell Colony, a community that had been founded a few decades prior by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, Marian. MacDowell, which is still thriving today, was founded as a place where artists could come and work surrounded by other artists. The community recently voted to remove Colony from its name. According to its website, since its founding it has “Provided crucial time and space for 8000 artists.”
Amy clearly believed in the cause and instructed that all royalties she earned after her death be donated to MacDowell. Amy died on December 27, 1944. She was 77 years old.
All month we’re talking about musicians. Tune in tomorrow to hear about another amazing trailblazer. For more on why we’re doing what we’re doing, subscribe to our newsletter, Womannica Weekly. You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram @EncyclopediaWomannica and you can follow me directly on Twitter @jennymkaplan.
Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
Talk to you tomorrow!