Celebrating American Composers

The Boston Public Quartet is thrilled to present three American works for piano and strings you’ve probably never heard. Arthur Foote, a member of the “Boston Six,” writes romantic and impressionistic music which is full of distinctly “American” melodies. His Piano Quartet opus 23 was published in 1890, and during Foote’s lifetime was performed to great acclaim. However it quickly disappeared from the concert stage and was out of print for 50 years, so we are pleased to aid in its rebirth.

Jeraldine Saunders Herbison, whom we’ve had the distinct pleasure of working with (on zoom) to prepare this piece, utilizes deep and sometimes dark poetic elements in her music. While this piece has been premiered digitally, this performance will be a world live premiere!  The Florence Price Piano Quintet is a giant of a work, rich with African-American rhythmic and melodic elements.  Also only recently published in 2009, decades after her death in 1953, this work deserves to be held in the same regard as the other great quintets of Schumann and Brahms we hold so dear, and Price in turn, “household name” status. We are happy to collaborate with violinist Nicole Parks on the quintet. The Boston Public Quartet is dedicated to the amplification of historically excluded voices in classical music. We are grateful to the American Music Project for making this performance possible.