Florence Price - the darling of BBC Radio 3

[Mark Thomas]

Has anyone else noticed the frequency with which BBC Radio 3 now broadcasts the music of Florence Price, usually accompanied by the host expressing amazement at how good her music is, or astonishment that it has lain unheard for so long? Now, I really don't have a problem with Price's music, it's pleasant if hardly exceptional, but it is galling that she is now getting such a disproportionate amount of attention when there are so many better unsung composers and compositions out there deserving at least a portion of the air time she's now receiving. Maybe I'm unduly cynical, but perhaps the fact that programming her music (as opposed to, say, that of William Grant Still or Samuel Coleridge Taylor) enables the BBC to tick not one but two "woke" boxes has something to do with it?

[Alan Howe]

I quite agree. She's a minor talent who's now being overexposed. Enough!

[ewk]

Funny you mentioned it now, just yesterday was I prompted to Price's Symphonies by my sister -- and YouTube keeps recommending it to me, too. I was struck by the extreme similarity of the 1st movement of the first to Dvořák's 9th. But as I quite liked it, that was ok for me -- some commentator said it is the answer to Dvořák from the community he depicted, maybe that has a point. What struck me more was the shortness of movements 3&4, as if she had lost interest in the Symphony and wanted to get it done. No counterweight to the long 1st and 2d movements
Partly this is true to Symphony 4 as well. Does anyone know more about this or why she did that?

Apart from that, I like Dawson's Negro folk Symphony better, too. But as history and the society of the time have given us so few women composers, this pool of talent is of course limited, who knows how many genius women did not ever get the chance to become a composer.
Ticking two boxes at once might of course be a thing, now as we start to want to represent the diversity of society, and I can understand this -- how must it feel as a black person or woman that every single well-known composer is an "old white man". But I think the resemblance to Dvořák might actually an important point too, this might make people continue to listen even though they might not know the composer.

But in defence of Price, I must say I enjoyed Price 1 probably just as much as Amy Beach's Gaelic Symphony which I consider a fine work (well and which is probably not played on BBC that often?).

Best wishes, ewk

[Alan Howe]

I'd say Amy Beach was a far finer composer than Florence Price - the Gaelic Symphony is proof of that.

[Mark Thomas]

ewk wrote:

Beach's Gaelic Symphony which I consider a fine work (well and which is probably not played on BBC that often?)

Oddly enough, Beach was BBC Radio 3's Composer of the Week sometime in January and they played at least a couple of its movements. Price was COTW a few months ago. My point about her isn't that she's a black woman composer, but that there are better composers who are women and better ones who are black, people who in each case deserve more exposure than Price is currently getting, which I suspect is a result of Radio 3's policy of encouraging ethnic and gender diversity. Of course, I have no problem at all with that aim provided it doesn't compromise the quality of what's broadcast, which it needn't, but Price might be regarded as an "easy win" in that respect.

As to Price's first Symphony, yes, it's debt in the first two movements to Dvorak's New World is very clear but I have no idea whether that was deliberate, although I suspect not.

[matesic]

Three hours ago I was in complete ignorance of Price's music but thought I might give her a try as background to the Saturday Times. After two symphonies and a violin concerto I can sincerely say I find her quite charming! I wouldn't think of it in terms of good/better/best, just that a real American personality comes through, you could say naive but I'd say unaffected and attractively folksy. I may not make a point of hearing any of these pieces again, but not being a frequent Radio 3 listener I'm not in danger of becoming jaded!

[Mark Thomas]

Maybe that's it, I'm just jaded!

[eschiss1]

has Composer of the Week ever featured Farrenc? I believe they did do a good series on Pejacevic once, and good on them for it.

[Mark Thomas]

Yes, Pejacevic was featured last year and Auguste Holmés also shared the slot with Henri Duparc. I'm fairly sure Farrenc was covered a few years ago.

[Christopher]

has Composer of the Week ever featured Farrenc? I believe they did do a good series on Pejacevic once, and good on them for it.

I've noticed that Classicfm have played Farrenc quite a bit recently.  It's a welcome change from Rach PC2 every 30 minutes...

[MartinH]

Recently I ran across a Classicfm article about 30 of the Greatest Composers. Period. https://www.classicfm.com/composers/greatest-classical-music-history/. Two women: Hildegard von Bingen and Amy Beach. No Florence Price.

As much as I love the Beach symphony, I really have trouble putting her in that august company (of course, I wouldn't put Philip Glass their either). As far as Price goes, she had talent and face difficulties many white, male composers didn't. But in music, only the best survives and if she wasn't black and/or female I doubt her music would draw any interest. I sat through a live performance of her First Symphony two years ago and wasn't impressed - it got worse as it went on. My feelings then - as I told several orchestra players and the conductor - were that there are many much better symphonies that await rediscovery or performance. But since they were written Dead, White, European Males, we'll never hear them. The conductor, to his credit, did say someday he wants to play a Raff symphony!

[eschiss1]

Wow... *rolls eyes*

[Revilod]

A list like that is worthless. It does what it sets out to do....list 30 of the greatest composers in classical music history...but what does that tell us?  30 of a thousand or a million? If it said "the 30 greatest composers in classical music history", something which casual readers may think it does, we could reasonably wonder where Nielsen, Puccini, Sibelius, Prokofiev or Massenet are, for example. ( You'd think that Puccini of all people would be included in a list compiled by Classic FM. ) I'm afraid that both Hildegard of Bingen and Mrs Beach are included purely for political reasons.

I know that we don't want to get embroiled in a political argument here but we must all be aware of the political agenda which so often determines decision making in the arts these days.....decisions which have to follow that agenda if accusations of racism or sexism ( and the subsequent risk of defunding ) are to be avoided. Excellent though "unsung" music already has more than enough hurdles to overcome if it is to be heard.

[kLAMI]

That list is sadly ridiculous. Every one of us would have different list but John Williams? Bernstein over Copland?
No Prokofiev, but Rachmaninoff? Hildegard over anybody? We could go on and on and on. These stupid lists tend to lock the newcomer into limiting greatness to list. What makes greatness anyway? Now there's a thread!

[Alan Howe]

And with that, back to Florence Price, please...