Amy Beach was an American pianist and composer who lived between 1867 and 1944. This highly Romantic symphony was composed in 1896 and has the accolade of being the first symphony to be published in the USA composed by a female. Beach also has the distiction of being the USA's first successful and 'recognised' female composer.
The symphony is in four movements and in the recording I listened to it was performed by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra conducted by Neeme Jarvi.
The writing of the symphony was in response to Dvorak's invite to all composers to explore their heritage/roots through music. Dvorak is of course known for his national and patriotic-flavoured music. This was a call to arms for Beach, whose family came not from America but Ireland, and so she turned to the music and landscape of The Emerald Isle for inspiration for this her only symphony; and hence the name 'Gaelic'.
The first movement is rather dense and thickly orchestrated. It's energetic and tuneful, but sadly, nothing special. The second movement however, starts with the wind section quietly playing a variation of a traditional Irish folk melody. It's very graceful and delightful. It becomes much faster, and although the marking at the start of this movement is 'alla sicilliana', it is actually a whirling Irish jig! It's a lovely movement. perfectly orchestrated. The third movement again sees Irish melodies, but here they are slow and melancholic, almost a lamentation for Beach for her native land. The last movement is back to full 'Romantic' mode again, with a return to the theme from from the first movement only here that theme is clearer, better defined, more urgent and more dramatic. The coda is a raucous and bombastic evocation of pure melodic Romanticism fortissimo.
I found the symphony to be very 'European' in style, differing from her US contemporaries, but of course, if her thoughts and her melodies came from across the waters, that really isn't too surprising. Obviously influenced by Dvorak, and sometimes sounding rather similar to her Russian contemporary Rachmaninov. A very enjoyable listen!
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 13/5/20
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