Interview with Amy Beach
Reporter: Today we are joined by
one of classical music's most triumphant female musicians ever: Ms. Amy Beach.
Good Morning, Amy.
Amy Beach: Thank you for having
me here today.
Reporter: You're most welcome. So,
to start off this interview, would you mind telling us a little information
about your family and where you are frrom?
Amy Beach: Pretty much for all
my life I've lived somewhere in New England . I spent the
first part of my child-hood developing my musical talent living on a small farm
in Henniker , New Hampshire Boston Massachusetts
As a child,
I lived with my parents and two of my grandparents. My aunt, Emma Francis
(Marcy) Clement, often visited while I was younger so much that it felt like
she too lived with us. My father, Charles Abbott Cheney, was a paper miller
until the mill burned down. Then, he was able to find a job near Boston University
of North Carolina
In 1885,
when I was eighteen, I married Dr. Henry Harris Aubrey Beach, a 43 year old
physician in Boston University
of New Hampshire Library
Reporter: So it seems like
you've been interested in music from a very young age. What do you think sparked
that interest of yours?
Amy Beach: From the time I was a
little girl, I've always had an interest in music. As a young child, I would
beg constantly to hear my mother, aunt, and grandmother sing (Block 1994). I
don't think that there's necessarily any one thing that sparked that interest
of mine. I believe it was mostly a combination of the fact that I was fortunate
enough to be blessed with raw talent and the fact that my mother was very
musical as well. From an extremely young age, I possessed the gift of perfect
pitch, the ability to memorize complicated melodies quickly, and the ability to
sing an accompaniment to any given tune (Tawa 1991). By the time I was four
years old, I was even composing my own pieces (University
of North Carolina
The fact
that my mother was a musician, I believe, was a major influence in my decision
to pursue music. She was an excellent singer and had a strong ability on the
piano (Tawa, 1991). I admired those characteristics in her and decided that's
what I wanted to do with my life: make music (Block, 1994). My mother helped me
nurture my talent by giving me piano lessons starting at age six and, overall,
encouraging me to develop my musical abilities (University
of North Carolina
Reporter: It sounds like your
mother was quite a prominent musical figure in your life. What role did she and
any other mentors you had have in helping you develop your musical interest and
talent?
Amy Beach: Throughout my musical
career, I've had very few mentors to help me out along the way. Therefore, I
wasn't really influenced by many in my interest and talent in music, except,
perhaps my mother. As I previously mentioned, when I was younger, my mother
encouraged my musical interest and instructed me on the piano (University
of North Carolina
Because of
the fact that I often times lacked a mentor's instruction, most of my musical
skills were self-acquired (Tawa, 1991). After we got married, my husband let me
compose my own music but refused to let me study with anyone (despite the fact
that I didn't have much experience with composing). Because of this, I had to
teach myself composition and orchestration (Scherer, 2007). As I mentioned
earlier, I did have a lot of raw talent musically speaking and could pick
things up quickly and easily (Block, 2012). I was able to get ideas for many of
the pieces I wrote from works by other composers (Tawa, 1991). Even though I
was left to my own devices, I was still a remarkably successful musician (Block,
2012).
Reporter: It sounds like you
must exhibit some sheer talent in order to be that successful as a musician.
That moves us on to the next question. What was the world of music like when
you entered it?
Amy Beach: When I entered the
world of music, it was dominated by men. Women were seen as inferior and were,
therefore, not as free to pursue their artistic interests. If women were going
to go into music at all, many people thought it was appropriate for them to
only play music, not create new pieces. Some people thought that women were
incapable of producing good compositions because their emotional natures
"prevented them from projecting their inner natures" (Tawa, 1991).
They claimed the fact that male composers were more successful was due to their
bigger expressions of strong feeling and how they display their inner feelings
in general throughout their art. Furthermore, they also stated that most women
couldn't handle criticism of their music (Tawa, 1991).
Nevertheless,
I still decided to go into music. In my time, classical, romantic style pieces
were the rave. I composed many different types of pieces including a symphony,
chamber, choral, and piano music (Block, 2012). My music gained the attention
of many and helped me gain respect as a composer (Tawa, 1991). Despite
opposition, I was a very successful musician.
Reporter: You are definitely
right when you say they you had lots of opposition to overcome. From what you
just said, it seems like there were a lot of important issues going on during
the time you were an active performer. Exactly how did the major cultural,
economic, and political situations of your time affect your work as a musician?
Amy Beach: There were quite a
lot of different situations in America
An
important economic issue that affected my work was the fact that women were just
starting to overcome their struggle for control over their careers. Around that
time, the Industrial Revolution was taking it's full effect on America Dublin
Another
issue that affected my work was the fact that normal wages, in my time, were
pretty small. Even though the Industrial Revolution introduced a lot of
advancements in technology, it led to a lot of economic problems as well.
Factories produced many goods that were formally hand-crafted in a very quick
and efficient fashion. Because of this, many people who used to make those
goods started having to compete with factories. Many of them gave up and
gravitated towards cities to find work in the factories. Factories often
produced more goods than people would buy which meant that they ended up losing
money. That caused the many factory workers to have to struggle with extremely
low wages, which, in turn, affected the whole economy ("Michigan
State University
Now that I
think about it, there were not that many political issues going on while I was
a young artist. The major issues started coming up late during my career. World
War I came right after my tour in Germany U.S. Germany
Reporter: It sounds like there
was an awful lot that affected your work as an artist. What were your major
accomplishments as an artist and what methods/styles did you use in your art?
Amy Beach: Even though there
were a lot of things to get in my way, I was still able to become a very
successful artist. My first real major accomplishment as a musician came when I
performed Chopin's Second Piano Concerto with the Boston Symphony at age 16.
After that, I had the opportunity to go on tour as a pianist for a few years,
including one time to Europe . It helped me gain lots of
positive attention as an artist and really marked my success as a superior
pianist. Furthermore, I was also one of the first American women to be a
successful composer of large scale musical works (Block). In my lifetime, I
composed over 150 pieces of music including a symphony, a piano concerto, a
Mass, and pieces for piano, chamber ensembles, and voice (University
of North Carolina
I had a
flare for writing classical, romantic style pieces at the time I was composing.
My compositions are very passionate and emotional, demonstrating very expansive
melodies and lots of chromatically-altered harmonies. I got many ideas for my
music from old folk tunes I'd heard before. Some criticized my work for being
too heavily influenced by composers like Wagner, Brahms, and MacDowell.
However, most believe my work was one of a kind. (Tawa, 1991).
Reporter: Sounds like you had
quite a difficult time trying to be successful as an artist, especially because
you were a woman. What do you believe were some of the key opportunities you
had that led to turning points in your life, music, and, ultimately, your
success?
Amy Beach: I believe one of the
key opportunities I had as an artist that, in general, helped me reach a
turning point in life and in my work was the fact that I had relatively
supportive family members who encouraged me to pursue my musical studies. My
mother was very supportive to me, allowing me to learn how to play the piano
and, later, even perform professionally. My husband also encouraged me in my
work and was one of the main people who influenced my decision to not just
channel my musical interest into playing music but to compose it as well. He
was even generous enough to let me publish my works (Block, 2012). I think that
without support, encouragement, and ideas from my family members, I would've been
a lot less of a successful artist.
Another
opportunity I had as an artist was the chance to study in Boston Boston Boston
However, I think the main turning point in my
life and music occurred when I was sixteen and my mother finally allowed me to
make my debut as a professional pianist. I'd been very eager for this moment my
entire life and was thrilled. My performance of Chopin's Second Piano Concerto
with the Boston Symphony earned me a lot of positive attention. One critic even
called my performance "perfect" (Block, 2012). I think this event in
my life was one of the first that showed me I could be a successful musician,
even if I was a woman. It gave me the faith and determination to continue in
music.
Reporter: It's clear that you
had a lot of support in your decision to pursue music. However, you've also
made it known that your road to success wasn't the easiest. What kind of
roadblocks and hardships did you have to overcome as an artist?
Amy Beach: One of the main
struggles I had to overcome as a musician was the fact that I am a woman. As I
mentioned earlier, many people thought women were inferior to men or didn't
exhibit the right amount of emotional control to be a successful composer.
Women were often criticized if the decided to go into music. In spite, of the
opposition, I still went into music and was incredibly victorious (Tawa, 1991).
Another
problem I had to put up with was the fact that my family put up limitations to
my musical career. My parents wouldn't even let me near a piano until I was
about six years old (Block, 1994). They also said no to a professional career
for me all the way until I turned sixteen. I also had to comply to my husband
when I married him about musical issues. After a lot of resistance, I had to
agree to his request that I limit my public piano performances to once a year
and channel my love of music into composing instead. After he died, I resumed
my public performances (Block, 2012). As you can see, I had a lot of obstacles
to overcome in my pursuit of music.
Reporter: I couldn't agree more
with you on that last statement. You truly did have to go through a lot during
your struggle to do well as a composer. Let's switch gears a little bit. Who
are the people you admire (both generally and artistically) and why do they
inspire you?
Amy Beach: I admire many people,
both those who are in my life and those whose work I have seen. As far as
artists are concerned, one of the most influential on my work was Dvořák. His
use of folk tunes as the basis of many of his songs inspired me to explore my
Irish roots for thematic substance for my own pieces (Scherer, 2007). There are
great many other artists I admire as well. Dvořák, though, was perhaps one of
my favorites.
However,
the person I admire the most of all in my life is my mother. She was the one
who introduced music into my life. She was a brilliant pianist and a great
teacher. I admired her and her musicianship very much. As a little girl, my
"joy in life" was to listen to her play. She inspired me to love
music more than I would have otherwise (Block, 1994).
Reporter: Altogether, you had a
very successful career as a musician. What personal stories do you think best
illustrate how you became so successful musically?
Amy Beach: There are two events
in my life that I think best signify how I became a successful musician. The
first (as I mentioned before) was when I made my debut as a professional
pianist. I got a lot of positive attention from my performance and was praised
very highly (Block, 2012). The respect I gained from my performance really
helped me realize my true potential as a musician. It helped me believe that I
could succeed, regardless of the limitations placed upon me.
The second
event that I think really marks my success was when I traveled to Europe
in 1911 on a three year tour ("University
of New Hampshire Library University of North
Carolina
Reporter: Well, I'm sure that's
one thing we can all agree on, Ms. Beach. You are a strong, talented woman.
Your musical abilities are simply outstanding and no one can help but admire
you. You are truly one of the most successful American female composers of all
time.
Works
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