Florence Price: 6 Facts

Florence Price was a classical composer in the early to mid 1900s.

     1. Her birth name was Florence Beatrice Smith.

Women get their names changed in many cultures. This makes it harder to trace their genealogy if sufficiently-detailed documents aren’t kept. This observation has little to do with Florence Price, but can be an inescapable fact of researching the history of a specific woman.

     2. She played her first piano recital at age 4 and published her first composition at age 11.

Some people find child proteges inspiring. I don’t begrudge them their talent or commitment, but their stories seem far removed from the average experience. I also wonder what these children give up in exchange for their young accomplishments.

     3. She composed and played piano and organ.

That’s a busy woman! Composing requires practice as much as playing the piano and organ do. Composing might even be harder because it is creating something new where playing is usually interpreting what someone else has created.

   4. In 1933, history was made when the Chicago Symphony Orchestra played Price’s Symphony No. 1 in E minor. 

This is a significant recognition for any composer. For Price, her race and gender combined with the time period makes this an even greater honor. Unfortunately, this event did little for her enduring success or to create acceptance for other American composers of African heritage.

     5. Price taught piano for 41 years.

She also worked at the Cotton Plant Academy and was the head of the music department at Atlanta University.

     6. Florence Price hasn’t been included in music education about classical composers.

I was taught classical music from the ages of 7 - 21, including earning a B. A. in Music. As an adult, I continue formal and informal classical music education. Before writing this post, if you had asked me to pick out the composers from a list of female names, Florence Price isn’t a name I would have recognized. 

I hope that with the changes in the U.S. over the past decades, Florence Price and other hidden talents will be included as a matter of course in any classical music education.