AN EVENING WITH AMY BEACH

     Amy Beach (1867-1944) was favorably compared to Clara Schumann for her brilliant pianism as well as her compositions. She was the first female composer to have her symphony performed by a major orchestra and was one of the first American composers to be honored in Europe. She published over 300 works during her lifetime, and other compositions have been discovered and published since. The American Classical Music Hall of Fame launched its award-granting program in 1998.  Amy Beach was inducted into this Hall of Fame in 1999.  
      Lillie Gardner, who performs throughout the world and teaches at St. Joseph’s School of Music in St. Paul, Minnesota, is playing several of Beach’s lush, romantic piano pieces for this special event. Gardner received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from New York University, and she holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in piano performance from the University of Connecticut. Particularly passionate about American music at the turn of the twentieth century, she completed a pioneer sketch study of Aaron Copland’s Piano Variations (1930) and is devoting the 2017-2018 concert season to the music of Amy Beach, whose 150th birth anniversary was in September of 2017.
     Attendees are invited to stay for a reception with Dr. Gardner following the Performance.  WWFM is recording this performance for a future broadcast on one of David Osenberg’s radio shows.