Customer Reviews

Amy Beach, Passionate Victorian: The Life and Work of an American Composer, 1867-1944

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At last, a full-length biography of the "Dean of American Women Composers." Engaging and thorougly researched. The only thing lacking is a discography of Beach's music. Highly recommended.

I bought this book for a report for my Women in Music class. Rarely have I so enjoyed reading a book for a school project! Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in Victoriana, American classical music, or women composers.

Months after the passing of author Adrienne Fried Block and over a decade since the publication of her impressive study of Amy Beach, the work continues to stand up. The minor errors are hardly worth mentioning--e.g., a footnote here and there, or a lone opus number. Block injects her own passion for truth and detail into the dramatic arc of Beach's life to produce not only a research tool and musical biography, but also a model of how to write about women composers, whose lives carry complexities and conflicts. That Beach--America's first woman composer of a symphony, a concerto, a Mass, a string quartet--was captured for history by Block is justice well served.

This book gives lots of detail about Amy Beach, born at a time when women were not encouraged to follow productive careers in music. Despite being handicapped by her society, Amy Beach overcame many of those by the shear force of her musical talents. This book follows Beach's musical and personal life and also provides a clear image of the time in which she lived. If I had any criticism, there may be too much detail, but then I bought the book just to concentrate on her music.