Saturday, January 9, 2021

John Malveaux: Dr. Michael Cooper: I awoke this morning to find that my edition of Florence B. Price's "Seven Descriptive Pieces for Piano Solo" has been published

Dr. Michael Cooper

John Malveaux of MusicUNTOLD.com writes:

Dr. Michael Cooper shared with MusicUNTOLD the following: NUMBER ONE OF 2021: I awoke this morning to find that my edition of Florence B. Price's Seven Descriptive Pieces for Piano Solo (1927-28) has been published by G. Schirmer & Associated Music Publishers.

That's quicker than I expected, but hardly too quick considering that they've remained unpublished, unperformed, unheard, and absent from the literature for nearly a century. They're pieces of some biographical significance also: the first six were composed in October, 1927, just before the Price family migrated to Chicago; and the last ("Pensive Mood") was composed in March, 1928 -- Price's first securely dateable piano-solo piece after that difficult move that proved a watershed in her professional and personal life. They're technically challenging and fascinating in many ways. It's 20-22 minutes' worth of fine music that is nowhere discussed or mentioned in any of the literature on Price -- and that can now change.
For assistance in providing the tempo and character indications for the pieces -- important information that Price omitted, even though the manuscripts are finished and revised -- I thank my good friends
Jonathan Bellman
and
Maeve Brophy
.

 

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