{"product_id":"amy-beach-passionate-victorian-the-life-and-work-of-an-american-composer-18671944-9780195074086","title":"Amy Beach  Passionate Victorian: The Life and Work of an American Composer  1867-1944","description":"\u003cp\u003eAmy Marcy Cheney Beach (1867-1944)  the most widely performed composer of her generation  was the first American woman to succeed as a creator of large-scale art music. Her \"Gaelic\" Symphony  given its premiere by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1896  was the first work of its kind by an American woman to be performed by an American orchestra. Almost all of her more than 300 works were published soon after they were composed and performed  and today her music is finding new advocates and audiences for its energy  intensity  and sheer beauty. Yet  until now  no full-length critical biography of Beachs life or comprehensive critical overview of her music existed. This biography admirably fills that gap  fully examining the connections between Beachs life and work in light of social currents and dominant ideologies.  Born into a musical family in Victorian times  Amy Beach started composing as a child of four and was equally gifted as a pianist. Her talent was recognized early by Bostons leading musicians  who gave her unqualified support. Although Beach believed that the life of a professional musician was the only life for her  her parents had raised her for marriage and a career of amateur music-making. Her response to this parental (and later spousal) opposition was to find creative ways of reaching her goal without direct confrontation. Discouraged from a full-scale concert career  she instead found her mtier in composition.  Success as a composer of art songs came early for Beach: indeed  her songs outsold those of her contemporaries. Nevertheless  she was determined to separate her work from the genteel parlor music women were writing in her day by creating large-scale works--a Mass  a symphony  and chamber music--that challenged the accepted notion that women were incapable of creating high art. She won the respect of colleagues and the allegiance of audiences. Many who praised her work  however  considered her an exception among women. Beachs reaction to this was to join with other women composers of serious music by promoting their works along with her own.  Adrienne Fried Block has written a biography that takes full account of issues of gender and musical modernism  considering Beach in the contexts of her time and of her composer contemporaries  both male and female. Amy Beach  Passionate Victorian will be of great interest to students and scholars of American music  and to music lovers in general.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45279588450357,"sku":"ByrdShop_0195074084","price":64.47,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780195074086.jpg?v=1780603043","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/amy-beach-passionate-victorian-the-life-and-work-of-an-american-composer-18671944-9780195074086","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}