Florence Beatrice Price

Piano Works

Florence Price, celebrated as the first Black woman to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra, left a vast compositional legacy, much of which has received little attention to date. The collection Piano Works: Preludes, Waltzes, Songs Without Words and others brings together a representative selection of 28 of her piano pieces, rooted in the 19th-century Romantic tradition. Although Price focused more strongly on Romantic idioms in the early stages of her career, the waltz (exemplified by the Rainbow Waltz) remains a consistent presence throughout her output, reflecting both a lasting affinity and an integral aspect of her compositional voice. This first Urtext edition of the composer’s piano works, intended for intermediate to advanced pianists, makes many of these works available in print for the first time, while others are presented here for the first time in an edition of a high editorial standard.