Program notes

Florence Price (1887-1953) left behind several hundred works of an astonishing diversity - both “classical” styles that had been the focus of her education, Black styles inspired by the spirituals of her childhood, but most often syntheses of the two. Some works achieved recognition, but her race and sex were obstacles to getting published. The process of publishing also required a significant time and effort that, in her estimation, was better spent composing new music.

Her String Quartet no. 1, thought to be written in 1929, was found in a dilapidated house by a property developer in 2008, nearly lost and forgotten forever. The piece shows her love of Brahms and Dvořák right from the opening theme, though its harmonic twists and rhythmic unpredictability are uniquely her own. Black spiritual melodies hover teasingly behind the second movement, complete with jazzy inflections and sighing summer heat.

Photos by Caroline Bittencourt