Beach "Piano Quintet in F Sharp Minor"

For this month’s Lunch & Listen we’re thinking about women who have overcome society’s limitations. Amy Beach is an ideal example. The virtuoso pianist taught herself to compose when her options to pursue a performance career were limited by her parents and husband, going on not only to become the first successful woman composer in America, but also “the most performed composer of her generation.” Her Piano Quintet in F# Minor is at turns contemplative, fiery, audacious and utterly original while also being lushly romantic and stunningly beautiful.

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