BaL 15.01.22 - The works of Amy Beach

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

9.30 Building a Library
Katy Hamilton surveys the key works and recordings of American composer Amy Beach and chooses her favourite.

Born in 1867 in New Hampshire, Amy Beach became the first successful American female composer, and her 'Gaelic' Symphony was the first symphony to be composed by an American woman. Despite great success during her lifetime, Amy Beach's music was neglected after her death in 1944, but enjoyed a renaissance in the late 20th century.

Featured Recordings:

Piano Quintet Op.67, I. Adagio, American Quintets & II. Adagio espressivo
American Quintets – Music by Beach, Barber & Price
Matthew Rose
Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective
Chandos CHAN20224

A Hermit Thrush at Eve
The American Virtuoso – Music by Beach, MacDowell, Faure, etc.
Alan Feinberg (piano)
Argo 4361212

Pastorale Op.151
Beach - Chamber Music
The Ambache Ensemble
Chandos CHAN10162

‘Ah! Love, but a day’
Jussi Björling: The Swedish Caruso – Music by Beach, Puccini, Verdi, etc.
Jussi Björling
Ivor Newton
Warner Classics 2173132 (5 CDs)

‘Je demande a l’oiseau’
L’heure Rose - Music by Women Composers – Music by Beach, Boulanger, Viardot, etc.
Hélène Guilmette (soprano)
Martin Dubé (piano)
Analekta AN29141

‘Over hill, over dale’ Op.39/1
Hymn to the Dawn – Music by Beach, Holst, Prokofiev, etc.
Jessica Petrus (soprano), Heather Petrie (contralto), Amanda Sidebottom (soprano)
Etherea Vocal Ensemble
Derek Greten-Harrison (conductor)
Delos DE3431

‘Gaelic’ Symphony, II. Alla siciliana & III. Lento con molto espressione
American Classics – Amy Beach
Alan Feinberg (piano)
Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Kenneth Schermerhorn
Naxos 8559139

Violin Sonata, IV. Allegro con fuoco
Tasmin Little plays Clara Schumann, Dame Ethel Smyth & Amy Beach
Tasmin Little (violin)
John Lenehan (piano)
Chandos CHAN20030

Berceuse Op.40 arr. Koncz
Portraits: The Clarinet Album – Music by Beach, Copland, Debussy, etc.
Andreas Ottensamer (clarinet)
Rotterdam Philharmonic
Yannick Nézet-Séguin (conductor)
DG 4810131

Piano Trio in A minor, I. Allegro
Her Voice: Piano Trios by Amy Beach, Louise Farrenc and Rebecca Clarke - Piano Trios
Neave Trio
Chandos CHAN20139

Piano Concerto, I. Allegro moderato & IV. Allegro con scioltezza
The Romantic Piano Concerto 70 - Beach, Chaminade & Howell
Danny Driver (piano)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Rebecca Miller (conductor)
Hyperion CDA68130

[CallMePaul]

The only work I have by Amy Beach is the Piano Quintet on an old ASV CD, which I bought at Vinyl Exchange in Manchester mainly for the Rebecca Clarke couplings (Viola Sonata and Piano Trio). The artists in the Beach are Martin Roscoe and the Endellion Quartet and the disc is currently a Presto CD: prestomusic.com/classical/products/7922111--rebecca-clarke-amy-beach-chamber-works and well worth having.

[cloughie]

I have been very impressed with all the Amy Beach I have heard!

[Barbirollians]

Her piano trio coupled with Clarke and Farrenc is good but does rather pale beside them .Indeed a BAL on the works of Louise Farrenc would seem more deserved.

[BBMmk2]

I’ll be listening to this one!

[Rolmill]

.Indeed a BAL on the works of Louise Farrenc would seem more deserved.

There was a COTW on Farrenc a few years ago, which was received favourably on this forum iirc, so a BAL follow-up is an excellent idea.

[Darloboy]

Her piano trio coupled with Clarke and Farrenc is good but does rather pale beside them .Indeed a BAL on the works of Louise Farrenc would seem more deserved.

Agreed, I have just a few works scattered across mixed composer discs - the piano quintet, string quartet and piano trio. Pleasant enough but I can think of other composers (Farrenc and Clarke included) more deserving of a BaL survey. The Takács/Garrick Ohlsson version of the Beach piano quintet won a Gramophone Award a few months ago so I assume that will feature.

[oddoneout]

Her works crop up in the morning schedules fairly often, as do those of Clarke and Farrenc.

[gurnemanz]

Not much interest in this BaL ... The only piece I had by Amy Beach was the Piano Concerto which came via a gargantuan (21 hours of music) and absurdly cheap download of Romantic Piano Concertos from Presto. Mainly older but serviceable recordings from the Vox/Turnabout back catalogue and an intriguing cornucopia of neglected pieces. The Hyperion is a newer recording and probably preferable but I don't need two.

When I saw this BaL coming I became interested in her songs and discovered that Presto listed several options;

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7930337--american-classics-amy-beach-songs

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7981634--amy-beach-rendezvous-love-songs-of-the-belle-epoque-era

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7943059--songs-of-amy-beach

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7936760--amy-beach-chanson-d-amour

I was hoping for guidance - in vain, as it happened, because the one song disc mentioned is a recital of songs by various female French composers. It appears to be an excellent disc which I may well get (reviewed here). However, it contains only one two minute setting by Amy Beach so it seems to me to be not an appropriate recommendation in a BaL devoted to one composer. I can't see that it was necessary to harp on about the disc's supposedly unsuitable title.

[Jonathan]

There is a complete piano music set on Guild, played by Kirsten Johnson, it's been a while since I've heard it but I was impressed at the time.

[ardcarp]

Katy Hamilton kept on making references to parts of Beach's work that reminded her of other composers (Brahms, Schumann, even Debussy) though she herself said at one point that it was a shame to do that. Beach was obviously a massively gifted performer and composer, but there are many, both men and women, whose work was produced outside the prevailing zeitgeist, and consequently have not made it amongst the 'greats'. I too would like to have heard more of her songs. Has Amy Beach ever been on CotW? That to me would have been a more suitable platform for an overview of her life and music.

[cloughie]

Katy Hamilton kept on making references to parts of Beach's work that reminded her of other composers (Brahms, Schumann, even Debussy) though she herself said at one point that it was a shame to do that. Beach was obviously a massively gifted performer and composer, but there are many, both men and women, whose work was produced outside the prevailing zeitgeist, and consequently have not made it amongst the 'greats'. I too would like to have heard more of her songs. Has Amy Beach ever been on CotW? That to me would have been a more suitable platform for an overview of her life and music.

This time last year!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0004mry

[ardcarp]

Thanks Cloughie. Unfortunately not available in an everlasting archive as some R4 programmes are, eg In Our Time. Maybe we'll get a repeat sometime when Donald needs a holiday.

[cloughie]

Thanks Cloughie. Unfortunately not available in an everlasting archive as some R4 programmes are, eg In Our Time. Maybe we'll get a repeat sometime when Donald needs a holiday.

Yes ardcarp I’d a feeling that it was cotw that had alerted me to Amy’s - I think most of it is tuneful and easy on the ear - I mean that in the positive sense. It seems that some may thing her music is not challenging enough - do we need to be challenged or just enjoy the music!

[mikealdren]

Haven't listened yet but was there ever a BaL that attracted so little interest.

I went to Henning Kraggerud's excellent Wigmore lunchtime recital on Monday and he opened with Amy Beach's Romance Op.23, I really enjoyed it - much better than I expected.