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Beach

Amy Marcy Cheney Beach (September 5, 1867 – December 27, 1944) was an American composer and pianist. She was the first successful American female composer of large-scale art music.  

Her "Gaelic" Symphony, premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1896, was the first symphony composed and published by an American woman. She was one of the first American composers to succeed without the benefit of European training, and one of the most respected and acclaimed American composers of her era. As a pianist, she was acclaimed for concerts she gave featuring her own music in the United States and in Germany.  

In 1900, the Boston Symphony premiered Beach's Piano Concerto, with the composer as soloist. It has been suggested that the piece suggests Beach's struggles against her mother and husband for control of her musical life. In all, Beach was one of the first American women who received large popularity for composing symphonies.  

Beach was a child prodigy who began composing at the age of four. She was largely self-taught as a composer, although she did have some lessons in harmony and counterpoint. She was married to Dr. Henry Harris Aubrey Beach, a prominent surgeon, in 1885. The couple had no children, and Amy Beach devoted herself to her music after her husband's death in 1910.  

Beach's music is characterized by its lyricism, its use of American folk melodies, and its strong sense of structure. She wrote in a variety of genres, including symphonies, concertos, chamber music, choral works, and songs. Her most popular works include her "Gaelic" Symphony, her Piano Concerto, and her Violin Sonata.  

Beach was a pioneer for women in music. She was a founding member of the Society of American Women Composers, and she was a strong advocate for the education and professional development of women musicians. She was also a role model for generations of American composers.  

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