Similarities, Differences, and Judgements

I hope that this blog has helped you learn a little more about me and my work. Please let me know what you think.

"The Year's at the Spring"

This is one of the many vocal pieces that I composed. I really like the way the song paints a picture in my mind because of it's vivid descriptions of the spring morning on the hillside. It may be short but it is still a beautiful piece.

Beach, Amy, writ. The Year's at the Spring by Amy Beach sang by Xoxi Mendez. Perf. Xoxi Mendez.

            You-tube, 2009. Web. 8 Apr 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EDHcmUjP9Q>.

Amy Beach's Symphony

This piece is one of my greatest achievements because it was one of the first popular symphonies that was written by an American woman. I like the beginning of the piece and how it swells from nothing to this blosoming phrase of music. It's a very beautiful piece of music.

Beach, Amy, writ. Amy Beach "Gaelic" Symphony Op 32 I. Allegro con Fuoco (1/5).

          Perf. Nashville Symphony Orchestra. You-tube, 2009. Web. 6 Apr 2012. 

Violin Sonata

This is the violin sonata that I worte, performed by Sara Johnson. I enjoy listening to the piece because of the long sixteenth note runs throughout the piece and the sudden changes in pitch. This is one of my favorite compositions I've made because it's for violin, one of my favorite instruments.

Beach, Amy, writ. AMY BEACH, Allegro confuoco, from Sonata in A Minor, Op. 34.. Perf. Sarah

        Johnson, and Peter Kairoff. You-tube, 2012. Web. 6 Apr 2012.

        <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5jQdyZe9NA>. 

Piano Concerto

This is the first part of one of the many piano pieces I've composed throughout my career. I especially like the mysterious sound made by the opening phrase and the way the dynamic contrast throughout the piece. In my opinion, this piece is one of my greatest works.

Beach, Amy, dir. Amy Beach- Piano Concerto Op. 45 PART 1 of 5- MARY LOUISE BOEHM. Perf.

            Mary Louise Boehm , and Westphalian Symphony Orchestra . You-tube, 2009. Web. 6

            Apr 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS1om-GC1RY>.

"Romance"

This is a video of Lee-Chin, a violinist playing a song I composed called "Romance". I really like this piece for the very high pitches from the violin and for it's very emotional mood. It's very, well, romantic.

Beach, Amy, writ. Lee-Chin plays Romance by Amy Beach. Perf. Lee-Chin, and Albert Tiu. You-tube,

            2009. Web. 6 Apr 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8K9m2bd662s>.

Interview with Diana Ambache

The following is a link to an interview with Diana Ambache about my life. In it, she speaks about my musical achievements as well as the styles of music I composed and how I delt with the constant struggle of trying to succeed as a woman musician and composer. If you are interested in the style of music I write, this is certainly something you should hear.
http://oboeclassics.com/~oboe3583/ambache/aBeachI.mp3

Dvorak

This is a picture of Dvorak: one of my favorite composers of all time. His music was played a tremendous influence in what I composed. I really admired him for his use of folk music in what he composed and inspired me to look to my Irish roots for ideas for my compositions. Altogether, he was probably the most influential on my work out of any other composers.

Dvorak. 2012. Photograph. The Dvorak Society for Czech and Slovak Music, United Kingdom.
          Web. 6 Apr. 2012. http://www.dvorak-society.org/index.html

Henniker and Boston

Pictured above is a bridge from the town where I was born: Henniker, New Hampshire. I lived in that town on a small farm for the first few years of my life.
Below is a picture of Boston during the 1880s (around the time I first moved there). It was a great place for musicians to live because people there tended to be more readily accepting than in other cities during that time. That may've had something to do with the fact that the laws regarding alcohol consumption were particularly strict there and alcohol tends to influence your ability to make decisions including how to behave towards people who are different (such as intellects and musicians who weren't as common back then). Because of the fact that people there were so accepting of different types of people, I ended up staying in Boston for most of the time I spent composing my music. 

 This is a picture of the actual house I resided in for a significant amount of the time I was in Boston. I lived here from 1885 to 1910 to be exact (see the picture below). Currently, there is a plaque on the side of the house marking it as my old home and acknowleging my achievements in the musical world.

Portrait

The following is a portrait of myself from during the period of my life when I was actively composing music. All in all, I composed almost 300 hundred works including a symphony, violin sonata, and many piano pieces. My expression looks distant yet beautifully captures the amount of determination I had when it came to excelling in my art.

Young Amy

This is a portrait of myself from around the time I was 16 and made my debut performance with the Boston Symphony playing Chopin's Second Piano Concerto. That performance marked the beginning of a very successful musical career for me. I especially like this picture because it looks as if I'm "looking off into the future" with hope (after my first great achievement) at the prospects of having a successful musical career.

Young Amy Beach. 2010. Painting. New Hampshire State Council of the Arts, New Hampshire. Web. 6

           Apr 2012.

           <http://www.nh.gov/nharts/newsandcalendar/spotlights/2010/Volume3/amermaster.html>.