Full Name: Amy Marcy Cheney
Profession: Composer and Pianist
Biography: Recognized today as the first US born female composer to have her work performed by a major orchestra, Amy Beach (then Cheney) was a child prodigy at the piano. Performing public recitals since the age of 8, she made her Boston debut at 16, and two years later performed with the Boston Symphony.
At about the same time, she married Dr. Henry Beach, and at his behest curtailed performing, except for an annual charity concert. Mrs. Beach instead concentrated on composing and met with acclaim for her 1892 Mass in E-flat played by Boston's Handel and Haydn Society, and her “Gaelic” Symphony, premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1896.
After her husband's death, she toured Europe and received enthusiastic response both as pianist and composer, becoming one of the first US trained classical musicians to do so.
Her portfolio contains over 300 works. Beach was an active participant of and later benefactor to the MacDowell Arts Colony, where she spent many summers composing.
Born: September 5, 1867
Birthplace: Henniker, New Hampshire, USA
Star Sign: Virgo
Died: December 27, 1944 (aged 77)
Cause of Death: Heart disease
Career Highlights
- 1896-10-30 Amy Beach's "Gaelic Symphony" debuts by the Boston Symphony Orchestra; the first major work by an American female composer receives "public and journalistic acclaim."
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