Duo "La Belle Époque"

The duo "La Belle Époque", founded in 2019, specializes mainly in performing works from the turn of the century.
The music from this period is particularly rich and diverse in terms of musical styles; it includes works that can be understood under the term "salon music" as well as the music of George Gershwin, Scott Joplin and many others.
Classical and romantic music is also an integral part of their programs. The duo "La Belle Epoque" also frequently performs works by unknown composers.

Program:
"American flair and English elegance from the turn of the century"
Works by the two American composers Florence Price and Amy Beach and the English composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor will be performed.

About the composers:
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was born in London in 1875, the son of a doctor from Sierra Leone and an Englishwoman. However, his father left England before his son was born. Samuel grew up with his mother and his grandfather, a blacksmith. His grandfather initially supported the boy, who showed great musical talent at an early age, in playing the violin himself and then provided him with professional lessons. Samuel was already performing as a violinist at the age of eight. He later studied at the Royal College of Music in London and then at Stanford. S. C. Taylor, who became increasingly known internationally as a composer, increasingly came to terms with his paternal ancestry and also became a leading figure for African Americans in the USA.

Florence Price was born in Arkansas (USA) in 1887. She was the first African-American woman to become known in the USA as a composer of classical music. She was a child prodigy and first performed as a pianist at the age of four. As a woman, however, she found it difficult to assert herself in the musical life of her time. The majority of her 300 or so compositions remained unpublished.

Amy Beach was born in 1867 in Hangman (New Hampshire, USA). She was also a child prodigy and began composing at the age of four.
She made a name for herself as a pianist, but had to reduce her concert appearances to just one a year after marrying the Boston doctor Henry H. A. Beach. After the death of her husband in 1910, however, she resumed her concert activities and went on a three-year concert tour to Europe, where she gave concerts of her own compositions.