Florence Price

1887 - 1953

American

Biography

The discovery of dozens of scores in an Illinois attic in 2009 led to renewed interest in the music of Florence Price, performances and recordings, and critical acclaim. Her music combines a rich and romantic symphonic idiom with the melodic intimacy and emotional intensity of African-American spirituals. As Alex Ross wrote in The New Yorker, her music "deserves to be widely heard."

In 1932 her Sonata in E Minor for piano won First Prize in the Wanamaker music contest, with overall honors awarded to her first symphony. Frederick Stock, music director of the Chicago Symphony, became a supporter of her music and programmed the work. Price became the first African-American woman to have a work performed by a major U.S. orchestra when the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performed it in 1933. Though she composed hundreds of pieces, her catalogue did not enter the twentieth-century mainstream canon, and many of her works, including two violin concertos, could have vanished if not uncovered during the renovation of her abandoned home.

Born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1887, Price received early training on the piano from her mother, a music teacher. She went on to attend the New England Conservatory, one of few higher musical institutions accepting African-American students. There, she studied composition and counterpoint with George Chadwick and Frederick Converse, and graduated in 1906 with both an artistic diploma in organ and a teaching certificate. After years teaching music privately and serving as the head of the music department at Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia, Price returned to Little Rock, then moved to Chicago, where she advanced her musical studies under Arthur Olaf Andersen, Carl Busch, Wesley LaViolette, and Leo Sowerby.

Price artist-playlist on Spotify

News

Performances

15th July 2025

PERFORMERS
Marburger Philharmonie
CONDUCTOR
Elisabeth Tzschentke
LOCATION
Union Hall, Maribor, Slovenia

16th July 2025

PERFORMERS
Students
CONDUCTOR
Students
LOCATION
EFG Kassel-Möncheberg, Kassel, Germany

17th July 2025

PERFORMERS
Marburger Philharmonie
CONDUCTOR
Elisabeth Tzschentke
LOCATION
Kirche, Skofja Loka, Slovenia

17th July 2025

PERFORMERS
Students
CONDUCTOR
Students
LOCATION
EFG Kassel-Möncheberg, Kassel, Germany

17th July 2025

PERFORMERS
Pennsylvania Philharmonic Juba Dance only
CONDUCTOR
Michael Butterman
LOCATION
The Hill School, Pottstown, PA, United States of America

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    • Since the early days of the United States, Americans have had a reputation for optimism and a particular attitude of possibility. Yet the U.S. has also faced great challenges in its history, from the Civil War to the Great Depression and present-day threats. Numerous scholars and cultural commentators have also noted our enduring streaks of both apocalyptic thinking and forthright engagement with life’s hardships. American composers have grappled with and balanced such forces of dark and light.
  • The Best Recordings of 2023 from Wise Music Classical

Photos

Discography

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