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Beach

Amy Beach (1867–1944) was an American composer and pianist who spent much of her career publishing under the name Mrs. H.H.A. Beach, following her marriage in 1885 to a Boston surgeon twenty-four years her senior who permitted her no more than two public performances a year. She taught herself orchestration by translating German treatises, and in 1896 the Boston Symphony Orchestra gave the premiere of her Gaelic Symphony, the first symphony by an American woman to be performed and published. After her husband's death in 1910 she resumed a full performing career and toured Europe, where her music was warmly received. Her chamber works, including the Piano Quintet in F-sharp minor and the Violin Sonata in A minor, remain the most frequently performed part of her output.

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