Amy Beach was the first American woman to write a symphony. An
accomplished musician, she appeared as a piano soloist with
orchestras throughout the United States and Europe. Her compositions
were performed widely and Beach Clubs were organized in many cities
and to play her music.
Amy Marsh Cheney was born in 1876. At the age of four she moved
with her family from New Hampshire to Chelsea. A child prodigy, she
could sing the tunes to forty songs before she could talk. She began
composing when she was eight and played the piano in Sunday School at
the Central Congregational Church in Chelsea. At age 16 she made her
debut as a soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She studied
piano with teachers at the New England Conservatory of Music but was
largely self taught in music composition and harmony.
Amy Cheney met Dr. Henry Harris Aubrey Beach in the summer
of 1885, when she went to his office for the treatment of a sore
finger. They were married in December of that year when she was 18
and he was 45. Dr. Beach was a prominent surgeon in Boston. He
supported her interest in composing and travelled with her on trips
when she performed with symphony orchestras. Mrs. Beach wrote over
150 compositions including the Gaelic Symphony, a piano concerto, an
opera, a Mass and numerous songs for voice and piano. Although her
romantic music has been played less frequently since her death in
1944, it is being recognized again for its beauty of tone and harmony.
