Why Amy Beach Matters

The Department of Music presents a lecture by Liane Curtis on the legacy of American composer Amy Beach, one of three events marking the 150th birthday of Amy Beach at UMBC November 17 and November 19.

Amy Beach (1867-1944) was praised by many in her lifetime as an important American composer, but in the twentieth century some began to consider her music as old-fashioned, and after her death, her work fell into obscurity. For decades her name (if mentioned at all) would be a subject of derision by later generations of musicians who knew none of her music.

The rediscovery of Beach’s music and revitalization of her reputation began in the late 1970s. Liane Curtis of the Women’s Studies Research Center Research, Brandeis University  will examine some of the factors that contributed to this historiographical revision, and consider two representative pieces of music composed 45 years apart – the Romance, op. 23, of 1893, and the Piano Trio, op. 150, of 1938 – both works that will be performed at UMBC.

Liane Curtis is a musicologist and the founder and President of both The Rebecca Clarke Society, and Women’s Philharmonic Advocacy. A former Fulbright Scholar, Liane has taught at a wide range of colleges and universities, including Wellesley, Ohio State, and (in 2011 and 2007) at Brandeis University. She has written for the San Francisco Examiner, Bay Windows, The Musical Times, The New Grove Dictionary of Music, the National Women’s Studies Association Journal, Women’s Enews, The Gay and Lesbian Review, and other publications. In October 2006, Liane was a Fellow in the National Endowment for the Arts Journalism Institute in Classical Music and Opera.

In 2000, she collaborated with the Boston Women’s Heritage Trail to have the name of composer Amy Beach added to the 87 names of male composers that adorn the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade. The unveiling of Beach’s name took place with a performance by the Boston Pops Orchestra that included music by Beach

Admission to this event is free.

Plan your visit
UMBC is located about 10 minutes south of the Inner Harbor along I-95. For this event, free visitor parking is available in Lot 8, directly adjacent to the Performing Arts and Humanities Building, where Linehan Concert Hall is located — please click here for additional information.