Black History Month :: Composer Florence Price
In celebration of Black History Month, we’re pleased to feature our Music History 101 Blog on American Classical Composer, Florence Price!
My boss, Linda Wehrli, suggested this multi-talented pianist, composer, organist and music teacher as she has been a huge fan for years. And in case you missed it, our CD Release Blog back in 2022 featured Scenes in Tin Can Alley, a stellar collection of recordings by pianist Josh Tatsuo Cullen of Price’s beautiful piano solos. Check it out here!
Price is noted as the first African-American woman to be recognized as a symphonic composer, and the first to have a composition played by a major orchestra. She composed over 300 works: four symphonies, four concertos, as well as choral works, art songs, chamber music and music for solo instruments.
So sit back, relax, and enjoy learning about this exquisite composer! Info courtesy of classicFM.com.
Who was Florence Price?
Florence Price was born in 1887 in Arkansas to a music teacher mother and a dentist father. Her mother encouraged her daughter in her musical studies, and Florence eventually went on to study at the New England Conservatory of Music, majoring in piano and organ.
She graduated with honors – and by 1910 she was the head of the music department at Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia.
In 1912, she married Thomas J. Price and they moved back to her home town of Little Rock, Arkansas until racial tension in the city escalated to the point that there was a lynching near Thomas’s office. The family moved to Chicago in 1927, where Florence continued studying composition, and in 1928 she published four pieces for piano.
So, when did she become a composer?
In 1931, Florence and Thomas divorced, leaving Florence with two daughters to look after. She began working as an organist for silent film screenings and composing songs for radio ads, to make ends meet.
In 1932, she and her housemate – fellow composer, Margaret Bonds – entered the Wanamaker Foundation Awards. Florence took first prize for her Symphony in E minor, while Bonds took first place in the song category.
Her Symphony in E minor is a thrilling four-movement work packed with soaring melodies, inventive writing (a second movement almost entirely for the brass section!) and gorgeous harmonies. It was performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and she was catapulted into her life as a composer.
What does her music sound like?
Florence’s music brings together the European classical tradition in which she was trained and the haunting melodies of African American spirituals and folk tunes.
She was a deeply religious person, bringing the music of the African American church into her music, as well as influences from the likes of Dvořák, Tchaikovsky, and other European Romantic composers.
The Lincoln Memorial Concerto
One of her most famous songs, My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord, was performed in one of the most important concerts ever held in America.
On Easter Sunday in 1939, a concert was held on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The star performer was the contralto, Marian Anderson. But because she was black she wasn’t allowed to perform in Washington D.C.’s Constitution Hall.
Washington D.C. was a segregated city at the time and the rules of the hall said that only white performers could appear there. The audience in the hall would also be segregated. Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of America at the time, stepped in and the result was an outdoor concert, held on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
Anderson chose to close the evening with Price’s haunting song. The concert was also broadcast on the radio, with Price’s music reaching hundreds of thousands of people across America that evening.
What should I listen to?
Unfortunately, there’s only a small amount of Florence Price’s music available on recordings. But there are many more available in filmed performances online.
Try some of her other songs here and here, and the Concerto in One Movement here.
Can’t get enough of Price and want to learn more? Check out this YouTube video with more info on this brilliant composer, courtesy of Classical Nerd. Enjoy!
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I’ve been committed to continuing lifelong learning and inspiring creative thinking through art and music since 1989. I’d love to meet you! You’re welcome to chat with me on Zoom or stop by the studio. Just shoot me an email at Linda@pastimesinc.com and I’ll be glad to set up a mutually convenient time.
Interesting and challenging life. It seems she has come into the public eye more in the last few years, various teaching organization magazines having articles on her as well. Thanks.
Indeed! Thanks for reading, Barry. 🙂
I have seen her name on programs in the last few years. I was not familiar with her until then so this was an interesting read. A lot of recitals have programed her art songs but I didn’t know about her symphonic work. Thanks for the introduction!
Our pleasure! Hope you get a chance to explore her repertoire!