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Episode 4

Donald Macleod focuses on Amy Beach's experiences at the idyllic Macdowell Colony, an artists' retreat. Including a selection of evocative chamber works.

By the early 1920s, Amy Beach was an American musical institution - albeit somewhat steeped in the Victorian era. Who would have expected, then, that aged 54, the composer would begin a remarkable new direction in her musical life, centred upon the idyllic Macdowell Colony - an artists' retreat deep in the New Hampshire woods.

There, Amy Beach composed an outpouring of evocative chamber works, fusing her own lyrical expression with more modern elements to create a uniquely personal musical style. Donald Macleod introduces a pair of pieces evoking the Hermit Thrush's morning and evening calls, as well as major pieces for string quartet and one of the composer's most passionate songs.

1 hour

Last on

Thu 5 Aug 2010 12:00

Music Played

  • Amy Beach

    Hermit Thrush At Morn, Op.92, no.2 (1922)

    Performers: Virginia Eskin (piano)

    • KOCH 372542.
    • 10.
  • Amy Beach

    Theme and Variations for Flute and String Quartet: I. Adagio - Allegro Moderato

    Performers: Ambache: Elizabeth Layton (violin), Ruth Ehrlich (violin), Martin Outram (viola), Naomi Butterworth (cello)

    • CHANDOS CHAN9752.
    • 1.
  • Amy Beach

    Theme and Variations for Flute and String Quartet: II. Adagio Espressivo

    Performers: Ambache: Elizabeth Layton (violin), Ruth Ehrlich (violin), Martin Outram (viola), Naomi Butterworth (cello)

    • CHANDOS CHAN9752.
    • 2.
  • Amy Beach

    Theme and Variations for Flute and String Quartet: III. Allegro Agitato - Adagio Come Prim

    Performers: Ambache: Elizabeth Layton (violin), Ruth Ehrlich (violin), Martin Outram (viola), Naomi Butterworth (cello)

    • CHANDOS CHAN9752.
    • 3.
  • Amy Beach

    Rendezvous, Op.120 (1928)

    Performers: Jörg Waschinski (male soprano), Christiane Meininger (flute), Rainer Gepp (piano)

    • PHOENIX LC18960.
    • 5.
  • Amy Beach

    String Quartet in One Movement, Op.89 (1929)

    Performers: Archaeus Quartet

    • LORELT LNT114.
    • 5.
  • Amy Beach

    Hermit Thrush At Eve, Op.92, no.1 (1922) 4.13

    Performers: Virginia Eskin (piano)

    • KOCH 372542.
    • 9.

Broadcast

  • Thu 5 Aug 2010 12:00

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