Florence Price - Piano Quintet in A minor (1936)

Florence Beatrice Price (née Smith; April 9, 1887 – June 3, 1953) was an African-American classical composer, pianist, organist and music teacher, born in Little Rock, Arkansas, educated at the New England Conservatory of Music, who was active in Chicago from 1927 until her death in 1953. 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. Please support my channel: Piano Quintet in A minor (c. 1936) I. Allegro non troppo (0:00) II. Andante con moto (13:43) III. Juba - Allegro (21:23) IV. Scherzo - Allegro (25:13) Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective Elena Urioste, violin; Melissa White, violin; Rosalind Ventris, viola; Laura van der Heijden, cello and Tom Poster, piano Even though her training was steeped in European tradition, Price’s music consists of mostly the American idiom and reveals her Southern roots. She wrote with a vernacular style, using sounds and ideas that fit the reality of urban society. Being a committed Christian, she frequently used the music of the African-American church as material for her arrangements. At the urging of her mentor George Whitefield Chadwick, Price began to incorporate elements of African-American spirituals, emphasizing the rhythm and syncopation of the spirituals rather than just using the text. In her first symphony, a melody is inspired by the spiritual but solidly rooted in instrumental writing. Compared with Dvorak’s 9th symphony, the third movement is titled Juba Dance. This antebellum folk dance would further inspire European art music composers like Debussy in its later manifestation the cakewalk. The weaving of tradition and modernism reflected the way life was for African Americans in large cities at the time. Florence Price composed numerous works: four symphonies, four concertos, as well as choral works, plus art songs, and music for chamber and solo instruments, works for violin, organ anthems, piano pieces, spiritual arrangements, three piano concertos, and two violin concertos. Some of her more popular works are: “Three Little Negro Dances,“ “Songs to the Dark Virgin“, “My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord“ for piano or orchestra and voice, and “Moon Bridge“. Price made considerable use of characteristic African-American melodies and rhythms in many of her works. In the program notes for her piano piece, Three Little Negro Dances, Price wrote: “In all types of Negro music, rhythm is of preeminent importance. In the dance, it is a compelling, onward-sweeping force that tolerates no interruption... All phases of truly Negro activity-whether work or play, singing or praying-are more than apt to take on a rhythmic quality.“