Hidden Figures: Florence B. Price #BlackHERstoryMonth 1/28 (Patreon)

Hidden Figures: Florence B. Price #BlackHERstoryMonth 1/28

Florence Beatrice Price (April 9, 1887 – June 3, 1953) was an American classical composer. She was the first African-American woman to be recognized as a symphonic composer, and the first to have a composition played by a major orchestra, when the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performed her Symphony in E Minor on June 15, 1933. The work was later performed at the Chicago World’s Fair as part of the Century of Progress Exhibition. In 1932 she and her housemate – fellow composer Margaret Bonds – entered the Wanamaker Foundation Awards. Florence not only took first prize for her Symphony in E minor, she also took the third prize. On June 15, 1933, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra played her Symphony in E minor, making her the first woman of African descent to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra. That orchestra also premiered her Piano Concerto the following year. In her lifetime, Price composed more than 300 works, ranging from small teaching pieces for piano to large-scale compositions such as symphonies and concertos, as well as instrumental chamber music, vocal compositions, and music for radio. One of her most famous songs, ‘My Soul’s Been Anchored in de Lord’, was also performed in one of the most important concerts ever held in America. On Easter Sunday, 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. 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, meaning that Price’s music reached hundreds of thousands of people across America that evening. Her musical style is a mixture of classical European music and the sounds of black spirituals, especially the rhythms associated with African heritage, such as the juba dance. Price’s southern heritage had an obvious impact on her work, as the titles for some of her shorter works suggest: Arkansas Jitter, Bayou Dance, and Dance of the Cotton Blossoms. Price died in Chicago on June 3, 1953, while planning a trip to Europe. In 1964, a Chicago elementary school took her name as its own in recognition of her legacy as both a Chicago musician and an important black composer. #HiddenFigures #FlorencePrice ****************** Merchandise! MAKE SURE U GETTA SHIRT!! https://www.teepublic.com/user/sssseren Follow me on social media! Twitter: @seren_sensei Instagram: @sensei_aishitemasu Personal Tumblr: http://sensei-aishitemasu.tumblr.com Tumblr for my work: https://sssseren.tumblr.com Snapchat: sssseren GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/tc5wh7q Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/seren_sensei ****************** Did you know I wrote a book? ☺️ 'So, About That... A Year of Contemporary Essays on Race and Pop Culture' Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/About-That-Contemporary-Essays-Culture-ebook/dp/B013V0CHK6 Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013V0CHK6 Digital download (e-book): https://gumroad.com/l/IkUa ****************** Links: 'The Rediscovery of Florence Price:' https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/02/05/the-rediscovery-of-florence-price 'Classical Lost And Found - Florence Price Rediscovered:' https://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2012/02/27/147522468/classical-lost-and-found-florence-b-price-rediscovered 'The inspirational life of Florence Price – and why it's one of the most important stories in music:' http://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/florence-price/ Florence Beatrice Smith Price (1887–1953): http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=1742 'The Price of Admission - A Musical Biography of Florence Beatrice Price:' https://www.wqxr.org/story/271521-musical-biography-florence-beatrice-price/ Florence Beatrice Price - Biography: https://www.biography.com/people/florence-beatrice-price-21120681 Florence Price (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Price FLORENCE B. PRICE: Piano Concerto in One Movement (1934) - First Section (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=189GH0gUBd4 Florence Price: Symphony No. 1 in E minor (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s4yY_A2A2k The Apollo String Quartet playing Florence Price's 5 Folksongs in Counterpoint (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WESnBCeof6M Leontyne Price "My soul's been anchored in the Lord" (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAu3QMuwWqw "Marian Anderson Sings at the Lincoln Memorial" Newreel Story (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF9Quk0QhSE 'Denied A Stage, She Sang For A Nation:' https://www.npr.org/2014/04/09/298760473/denied-a-stage-she-sang-for-a-nation