Johanna Beyer / Amy C. Beal.

Author/creator Beal, Amy C. author.
Format Book
PublicationUrbana : University of Illinois Press, 2015.
Descriptionx, 133 pages : illustrations, music ; 22 cm.
Subjects
Beyer, Johanna Magdalena, 1888-1944.
Beyer, Johanna Magdalena, 1888-1944--Criticism and interpretation.
Composers--United States. --Biography.

SeriesAmerican composers
American composers. ^A759128
Contents Introduction. From Leipzig to the Bronx -- Sunnyside, 1927-1933 -- Compositional beginnings, 1933-1936 -- Having faith, 1936-1940 -- New York waltzes: works for piano -- Horizons: percussion ensemble music -- The people, Yes: songs and choral works -- Sonatas, suites, and string quartets: chamber music -- Symphonic striving: works for band and orchestra -- Status quo -- Beyer's final years, 1940-1944 -- Conclusion. "May the future be kind to all composers" -- Appendix A. Biographical data -- Appendix B. Chronological list of Beyer's known works -- Appendix C. Publications of Beyer's music -- Appendix D. Selected recordings of Beyer's music -- Appendix E. Beyer's poetry.
Abstract Composer Johanna Beyer's body of music and enigmatic life story constitute an important chapter in American music history. As a hard-working German émigré piano teacher and accompanist living in and around New York City during the New Deal era, she composed plentiful music for piano, percussion ensemble, chamber groups, choir, band, and orchestra. An ultramodernist, Beyer studied with Ruth Crawford, Charles Seeger, and Henry Cowell. Though an active member of a community that included now-better-known figures, only one of her works was published and only one recorded during her lifetime. Yet contemporary musicians who play Beyer's compositions are intrigued by her originality and theorists who study her methods are impressed by her formal ideas. The first book-length study of the composer's life and music, this book reclaims a passionate and creative woman underestimated by her music community even as she tirelessly applied her gifts.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references (pages 121-125) and index.
LCCN 2014036351
ISBN9780252039157 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN0252039157 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN9780252080722 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN0252080726 (pbk. : alk. paper)