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Women of Music History, Part V - Amy Marcy Cheney Beach

© Brad Foust

The musical background of Amy Marcy Cheney Beach (1867-1944) reads like that of many well-known male composers: Her talent was recognized at a very early age, she began writing music at age four, and gave her first public performances at age seven. However, this great American composer is widely unknown, despite the fact that she made substantial contributions to the world of music.

Beach was born in New Hampshire, and her obvious predisposition for music was realized there. In 1875, her family moved to Boston, a center for culture and music. In this environment, she was able to further pursue her study of music.

While playing publicly and studying music, Beach also continued to write. An interesting meeting with the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow inspired her to write music for his poem, "The Rainy Day." This became her first published work, in 1875, at the young age of thirteen. The year 1885 also brought two major changed to Beach's life. She made her piano-playing debut with the prestigious Boston Symphony Orchestra, and she married Dr. Henry Beach, a prominent doctor and Harvard professor. She was eighteen; he was forty-three.

Beach's musical life went through a major change upon her marriage. At the insistence of her husband, she limited her performing schedule and focused on composing. During this time, she was quite successful in having her works published and performed by the leading ensembles and orchestras of the time. The 1892 premier of her first major work, "Grand Mass, Opus 5," won her great acclaim. As a matter of fact, Amy Beach holds the distinction of being credited as the first American woman to write a major symphonic work (Gaelic Symphony in E Minor, Opus 32), which was premiered in 1896 by the Boston Symphony.

Beach continued to write in many different styles, from orchestral works to church and chamber music. Upon her husband's death in 1910, she once again began to perform, and even took a three-year performance tour of Europe, where she received great acclaim. Upon her return to the United States in 1914, she continued performing and composing. Between the years 1921 and 1941, she became associated with the MacDowell Colony, a meeting place for artists, writers and musicians. At the Colony, she wrote most of her later works, and befriended people such as Marion MacDowell, the "Colony's" namesake, and playwright Thornton Wilder.

She spent most of these later years of her life between New York City and New Hampshire. After 1941, her health began to worsen, and she chose to stay in New York. Amy Beach died of heart failure on December 27, 1944 at the age of 77.

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