Pieces (3) for piano, Op. 128

• Composer: Amy Beach
• Period: Post-Romantic (1870-1909)

Review

Amy Beach, one of America's finest composers, wrote this charming set of three character pieces at the MacDowell Colony, a famous retreat for musicians located in Peterborough, NH. Born in New Hampshire in 1867, she was a genuine child prodigy who began playing piano professionally before she was 16. Her remarkable talent was nurtured from a young age by a committee of Boston supporters, including Dr. H.H.A. Beach, who married her when she was 18. He was a physician with a standing in society and a Harvard faculty member. She had the leisure time to compose without financial pressure, but gave up her concert career except for one or two charity appearances a year. During this period, her style remained relatively static. She wrote in a conservative late-Romantic style, her piano writing in particular characterized by warm harmonizations and fine melodies. After Dr. Beach died in 1910 and her mother in 1911, Beach went to Europe for some study, some concertizing, and some opportunities to hear the latest trends in music. On her return to the United States, she resumed composing. Soon she adapted her style to some of the musical developments of her times. These 1928 compositions are quite different from her earlier works. She has accepted the non-resolving piquant dissonances of Impressionism and the leaner, non-Romantic textures that were present in more recent European music. She kept the warm basic nature and ability to craft excellent melodies.

She was a particular supporter of the MacDowell Colony, and a friend of Marian (Mrs. Edward) MacDowell, widow of the important American composer after which it was named. So Beach spent considerable time in its beautiful surroundings. She composed seated outside her studio with a view including Mount Monadnock. This set comprises three nature portraits, taking about five minutes altogether. The first, "A Peterborough Chipmunk," is inspired by the little animal's way of darting, looking about, and freezing. Beach displays exquisite timing in bringing the music to momentary complete silence, then resuming its high-register scurrying. "Young Birches" is the most melodic and most Impressionistic of the set. The leaves rustle in the wind and create a shimmering visual effect. Beach's impression of that shimmer forms the harmonic backdrop to a long, lovely melody. The final movement, "A Humming Bird" has a buzzing figure representing the drone sound of its constant flight. Like the chipmunk, the hummingbird comes to sudden stops, then darts off in an unpredictable direction almost before one can notice. These became some of Beach's favorite late pieces. She chose to play the set at her first invitation from Eleanor Roosevelt to appear at the White House (April 1934) and was pleased to repeat them in her second appearance two years later. ~ Joseph Stevenson, Rovi

Albums with Complete Performances of the Work

Title	Date
Amy Beach: By the Still Waters	1997
An American Portrait	1999

Albums with Excerpt Performances of the Work

Title	Date
Array	2006

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