Amy Beach Women In Music Analysis

Throughout history, women’s only function in music was as a muse, as a man’s “impulse support, and consolation”. However, through Amy Beach, “one of America’s leading composer”, we know that women can be more than just an inspiration for men. Despite being tied down by her aristocrat background, she went against the expectations imposed on her by society and succeeded. Her life remains an example that it isn’t women who are incapable of becoming great composer and musicians but rather the societal limitations that are hindering their success.
In the 18th century, an “accomplished” women was defined as being educated in the sense that she must learn self discipline, her role in life according to her sex and status, and the principle of domesticity.

She must learn how to sing, dance, paint, and all sorts of hobbies in order to show off her family’s wealth and status. Such skills reflect greatly upon the family since not everyone, especially those of the lower class, had the financial stability and the leisure time to do so. Therefore, most women from the aristocrats were considered accomplished. This is further emphasized in Jane Austen’s novel, “Pride and Prejudice”, when Charles proclaimed that there has not been a single lady he’d met who could not paint tables, cover skreens, and net purses. It also speaks volume on the limitations placed on women in that era because they were looked down upon for doing anything else besides activities that were considered appropriate. For example, Elizabeth Bennet was given expression of disappointment and was characterized as peculiar for she “preferred reading over cards.” Out of all the activities, music, especially piano playing, was the most important aspect of being accomplished. You can see that this is true through the the fact that Miss Darcy was being praised for and defined as “extremely accomplished for her age” due to her exquisite piano performance. The piano was so popular in the 18th century that every household essentially owned one and every girl will learn to play it whether or not she had the ability to. This was the reason why Amy Beach was given private lessons on piano, harmony, and counterpoint starting at a young age. But while most women would drop their music when they reach a certain age, Amy Beach remained devoted to it for the rest of her life. Her husband did not give her permission to work, however she was given the freedom to compose and was allowed two performances per year under the condition that the profit must be donated to a charity.
Most women in Amy Beach’s time were not given formal education because it was considered morally corrupted since “learning” was restricted for males only. Even with schools, tutors, and governess around, they mostly taught “accomplishments” instead of the broad intellectual education due to an an unspoken obligation of meeting the parent’s demand. Therefore, under the circumstances, Amy Beach had to teach herself how to compose by studying and observing the works of the composers she admired. She also dedicated time to translate books that will enable her to further advance in her learning. Amy Beach was able to stay commitment to music partly because it was not forced upon her. To her, music was her passion unlike other aristocratic women who only took up the hobby in order to appear more desirable and marriageable.
In Upton’s novel, “Women in Music,” he stated that women were given equal advantages as men, however it was due to their lack of adversity and intelligence that made them fail as a creator.

Although this became the stigma associated with women, we know that it is far from the truth; that the reason why there was such disparity between women and men composers was solely because they were not given the same opportunity. This is especially true for Amy Beach because even though she was a child prodigy and was given musical training at a young age, she was discouraged by her father from becoming a professional musician. Amy’s brother, on the other hand, was able to make a career out of it whereas her talent could only be seen as an ornament, a status symbol, and nothing beyond that. She was not any less of a musician than her brother, however the path that they were allowed to take was a world of a difference. This could also be seen in Mr. Bulwer’s novel “The Parisians”, where the female character Isaura Cicagna was warned not to become a composer because as a women, she will be no better than a third rate opera writer. Even before Cicagna got the chance to pursue her dreams, she was already predestined to fail due to the gender

inequality.
Amy Beach adhered to societal expectations by being a housewife up until the death of her husband. But when he passed away, she resumed her career as a professional musician despite how badly it could have reflected on her family. Through her performances and compositions, Amy Beach was able to break the stigma that women did not have the intelligence required to become a successful composer, since “music is not only an art, but an exact science.” Her pieces such Gaelic Symphony, Mass in E-flat, Piano Concerto proved that women could indeed write large scale music and the fact that they were all well received threw Upton’s statement that they could not create important and enduring works out the window. It was true that a woman’s worth in the 18th century was determined by her ability to be a men’s wife, however Amy Beach was able to find her own self worth through her music and thus became an inspiration for us all.