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
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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- The Best Recordings of 2023 from Wise Music Classical
- Wise Music Classical invites you to enjoy a selection of the best recordings of 2023, featuring composers from across our international family of publishing houses.
Photos

Discography
- LabelDelphian
- Catalogue NumberDCD34279
- SoloistLana Bode, soprano; Samantha Crawford, piano
- Released29th September 2023
- Works
- LabelDeutsche Grammophon
- ConductorYannick Nézet-Séguin
- EnsemblePhiladelphia Orchestra
- Released15th September 2023
- Works
- LabelNaxos
- Catalogue Number8559920
- ConductorJohn Jeter
- EnsembleWürttembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen
- Released2022
- Works
- LabelCedille
- Catalogue NumberCDR3015
- ConductorJonathon Heyward
- EnsembleRoyal Scottish National Orchestra
- SoloistRachel Barton Pine, violin
- Released9th September 2022
- Works
- LabelBlue Griffin Recording, Inc
- SoloistJosh Tatsuo Cullen, piano
- Released3rd June 2022
- Works
- LabelArkansas Symphony Orchestra
- ConductorGeoffrey Robson
- EnsembleArkansas Symphony Orchestra
- SoloistKaren Walwyn
- Released9th March 2022
- Works
- LabelAzica Records
- EnsembleCatalyst Quartet
- Released4th February 2022
- Works
- LabelNew York Youth Symphony
- ConductorMichael Repper
- EnsembleNew York Youth Symphony
- SoloistMichelle Cann, piano
- Released2022
- Works
- LabelNaxos
- Catalogue Number8.559897
- ConductorJohn Jeter
- EnsembleORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra
- ReleasedNovember 2021
- Works
- LabelDeutsche Grammophon
- ConductorYannick Nezet-Seguin
- EnsemblePhiladelphia Orchestra
- Released24th September 2021
- Works
dream.risk.sing
Florence Price: Songs of the Oak
Florence Price: Violin Concerto No. 2
Scenes in Tin Can Alley
Piano Concerto in One Movement (original version)
Uncovered, Vol. 2: Florence B. Price
New York Youth Symphony
Florence Price Symphonies Nos 1 & 3
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