Sonata, Op. 34 About the Composer

Sonata, Op. 34 About the Composer: Amy Marcy Cheney Beach (or Mrs. H.H.A. Beach, as she preferred to be known) was, at the time of her death, consid- ered to be “one of the first American women to win recognition as a composer of classical music.”1 This was at a time when women were beginning to emerge from the shadows of dilettantism, the position they usually held in a male-dominated world of classical music performance and composition. Her own perception of the potential for artistic imagination as a woman reflects the attitude of turn-of-the-century society. In an interview with Musical America she commented that, “ ... it is certain that in the high flights of musical creation women do not begin to compare with men.”2 Having said this, she still apparently did not feel limited in any way in her own work. Beach believed that men and women composers in America had the same opportunities. Born in Henniker, New Hampshire on September 5, 1867, Amy Cheney was musically precocious, starting to compose melodies at age four and studying piano from age six with her mother, an accomplished pianist and singer. Amy was eight when the family moved to Boston where she studied piano with Ernst Perabo and harmony, for a brief time, with Julius Hill. This was her only formal theoretical training. At sixteen, having already performed in recital, she appeared as soloist with the Boston Symphony with great success. In 1885 she married Dr. Henry Harris Aubrey Beach, a well-known surgeon in Boston. He was twenty-four years her senior and an amateur musician. From this time onward she always used the name “Mrs. H.H.A. Beach” professionally -- perhaps another indication of how she perceived her role as a woman in the arts. Her husband encouraged her activities, but any fees she received were donated to charity. During her twenty-five years of marriage, Mrs. Beach devoted more time to composition and less to performance. She made a thorough study of scores of the great masters, as well as of theory and counterpoint. It was during these years that several of her major works were written and performed, including the Gaelic Symphony, Op. 32 in 1896 (the first work in that large form composed by an American woman.) There were also the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 45 in 1899, the Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 34 in 1896, and works for chorus and orchestra, songs, piano works and chamber music. Boston and New York City were important centers of musical activity at the turn of the century. Women’s orchestras abounded and the National Federation of Women’s Clubs promoted works by women composers. The Boston publishing house of Arthur P. Schmidt printed contemporary music, publishing much of Mrs. Beach’s output. After her husband’s death in 1910, Mrs. Beach visited Europe in 1911 for the first time, staying for three years. While there she performed extensively, often featuring her own compositions. She was warmly received and her reputation spread as one of this country’s most highly regarded composers. Upon returning to America, she lived in New York, continuing to con- certize and compose. Amy Beach died in New York on December 27, 1944. About the Composition: The Sonata for Violin and Piano (1896) was written in a six-week period, possibly for Franz Kneisel, first violinist of the Kneisel String Quartet. Although there is no written dedication, the work was premiered on January 4, 1897 at a Kneisel Quartet concert in New York by Kneisel and Mrs. Beach. They subsequently performed it many times in America and in Europe. Classicism influenced the formal structure of Amy Beach’s compositions, but she used a rich harmonic vocabulary typical of late German Romanticism. The Sonata is grand in scale and follows a traditional classical sonata form. Long expansive melodic lines often overlap as do the harmonies, creating a complex, interesting texture. This is particularly apparent in the third movement. The piano writing is often thick enough to suggest a caution to performers to give careful attention to bal- ance. The violin part is idiomatic, emphasizing the “cantabile” qualities of the instrument. The virtuoso aspects of both parts require accomplished players. The “salon-music” style of the Scherzo provides a light contrast with the intensity of the outer movements. The work as originally written is lengthy. Through the generosity of Dr. Adrienne Fried Block who is currently preparing a biography of Amy Beach, I have seen a copy of the correspondence from the composer to violinist Elena De Sayn, dated November 15, 1931, in which she discusses possible cuts that would “ ... add to the present-day value ...” of the work. They apparently were preparing a performance of the sonata. For the first movement she suggests a cut from letter J to letter K (mm. 219250) with a “very slight fermata as a break,” and omitting measures 307-08 and m. 316 “ ... with a view to fewer repetitions.” If m. 316 is omitted, the notes in both the left and right hand parts of measure 315 must be tied to the first notes of m. 317. Make sure the alto voice F-sharp changes to F-natural on the second beat of m. 317. Beach suggests play- ing the Scherzo as written, but without the repeat, and the third movement exactly as written. For the Finale, Beach writes, “In this I shorten the Fugue, jumping from the end of Section G [m. 116] to four bars far- ther along [m. 121]. That is, I omit the first four bars of letter H. Then beginning section I [m. 125], I play two bars, skip the third one [m. 1271, play three and skip the fourth [m. 131]. These proceedings suit the piano part perfectly and if we find that the violin comes in badly anywhere I can change notes to suit you. The last cut is to jump from the end of section L [m. 192] to eight bars after letter M [m. 200] directly to the ff finish of the movement, as the last nine bars are quite enough.” Three days later (November 18), she writes in response to de Sayn’s answer to the above letter, “I have decided to leave the grand Finale exactly as is. I like your idea very much of omitting the violin part for the two first bars of section Eye [mm. 125-26]. We will omit the first four bars of Section H [mm. 117120], bringing the violin in on A natural.” In addition to Dr. Block’s generous assistance in preparing this edition, the encouragement, aid and support I received from Sylvia Glickman, fine pianist and head of Hildegard Publishing, were invaluable. She has edited the piano part. About this Edition: In the full score the violin and piano parts appear exactly as in the original Arthur P. Schmidt publication (1899). The violin line shows Mrs. Beach’s phrasing, articulation and dynamic indications, rather than bowings or fingerings. In the extracted violin part all fingerings and bowings are the suggestions of the editor. Editor’s fingering in the piano part, where different from Beach’s marked fingering, is enclosed in brackets. Additional dynamic and tempo suggestions by the editors have been put in brackets in both the violin and piano parts. Where these conflict with original Beach dynamics and tempo changes in the score, the originals are enclosed in parentheses so as to give the performer a choice. Markings of bracketed arrows facing left or right indicate suggestions to either hold back or move the tempo ahead. Barbara Sonies 1994 1. The New York Times, December 29, 1944. 2. Herbert F. Peyser, Musical America XXV/25, “Believes Women Composers will Rise to Greater Heights in World De- mocracy,” (April 21, 1917).

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