Beach, Mrs. H. H. A.

Beach, Mrs. H. H. A., 1867–1944, American composer and pianist, b. Henniker, N.H., as Amy Marcy Cheney. A child prodigy, she received rather meagre training as a pianist in the United States, and toured there and in Europe. In composition she was largely self-taught. Her Gaelic Symphony (1896) was the first symphony by an American woman. She composed more than 150 works, including a piano concerto, chamber music, choral pieces, and well-known songs such as "Ah, Love but a Day" and "The Year's at the Spring." Her music is in the romantic style of the 19th cent.

Bibliography

See Amy Beach by A. F. Block (1999).