{"id":13657,"date":"2025-07-29T09:18:44","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T09:18:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pianostreet.com\/blog\/?p=13657"},"modified":"2025-07-29T09:59:39","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T09:59:39","slug":"bringing-florence-price-back-to-life-an-inside-look-with-pianist-han-chen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pianostreet.com\/blog\/articles\/bringing-florence-price-back-to-life-an-inside-look-with-pianist-han-chen-13657\/","title":{"rendered":"Bringing Florence Price Back to Life: An Inside Look with Pianist Han Chen"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new recording of Florence Price\u2019s Piano Concerto shines new light on the pioneering composer\u2019s legacy. In this interview, Piano Street talks to pianist Han Chen, who reflects on Price\u2019s fusion of Romantic and African American idioms, and the personal journey of interpreting her music for modern audiences.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Pianist Han Chen<\/strong> can be heard on a recent recording of Florence Price\u2019s “Piano Concerto in One Movement”, featured on Naxos, conducted by John Jeter with the Malm\u00f6 Opera Orchestra. Chen\u2019s interpretation is instrumental in reviving and honoring the legacy of Florence Price, now described as one of the early 20th century\u2019s most influential African American composers. Chen\u2019s expressive playing and emotional engagement have helped shed new light on Price\u2019s significant yet overlooked contributions to American art music.<\/p>\n

Florence Price<\/strong>, primarily celebrated as a pioneering composer, also displayed notable talent as a pianist. Having undergone rigorous organ and piano studies at New England Conservatory in Boston, she performed as a concert pianist early in her career. Her extensive training fostered a deep understanding of musical structure and expression – elements she masterfully integrated into her compositions. Price composed more than 300 works, including four symphonies, four concertos, as well as choral works, art songs, chamber music, and pieces for solo instruments. In 2009, a significant collection of her compositions and papers was discovered in her abandoned summer home, shedding new light on her prolific and important career. <\/p>\n

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Some might remember Piano Street\u2019s conversation with Han Chen on his recordings of Ligeti in 2024<\/a>, and therefor it\u2019s very pleasing to have him back on another interesting project. In this interview, Chen shares his experience of recording the Piano Concerto in One Movement. He talks about what drew him to Price\u2019s music, how he approached a rediscovered work that mixes African American musical roots with classical traditions.
\nChen\u2019s engagement is a serious effort to bring Price\u2019s unique voice back to life in concert halls.<\/p>\n

Patrick Jovell: What made you want to record Florence Price\u2019s Piano Concerto, given its history and importance in music?<\/em><\/p>\n

Han Chen: I was first invited to participate in this project by Naxos Records, my long-time collaborator. Conductor John Jeter has released three albums of Price\u2019s symphonic works on Naxos American Classics, and this new release continues that survey. At the time, I had read about the rediscovery of Price\u2019s music in The New Yorker, but I had not yet heard her Piano Concerto. I looked it up online and listened to a few excellent recordings. My first impression was that it\u2019s virtuosic, exuberant, and deeply touching. This concerto reflects Price\u2019s continued effort to bring African American musical idioms into classical forms. In the resurgence of her music, we are also re-evaluating the historical importance of her and her contemporaries\u2019 work. Music history has long favored boundary-pushing styles, but we are now at a moment of rethinking how significance is assigned. As a pianist who engages with both traditional and avant-garde repertoire, I\u2019m deeply interested in filling the neglected spaces\u2014both musically and personally. I was thrilled to be part of this project and to contribute to American music for the first time as a recording artist, especially since I have studied and worked primarily in the United States. In addition to the Piano Concerto in One Movement, this album also includes her two Violin Concertos (featuring violinist Fanny Clamagirand) and William Grant Still\u2019s orchestration of her piano piece Dances in the Canebrakes, all recorded with the Malm\u00f6 Opera Orchestra.<\/p>\n

PJ: How did you handle interpreting a work that was long lost and recently reconstructed?<\/em><\/p>\n

HC: For many decades, only a piano reduction of this concerto was available. Composer Trevor Weston reconstructed the orchestration in 2010 based on that reduction and Price\u2019s notes. However, since 2020, her original orchestration has been published by G. Schirmer, and that\u2019s the version we recorded. I didn\u2019t approach it differently from how I would interpret a score by Bach or Beethoven. Price herself was an avid performer\u2014on both piano and organ\u2014and her music merits the same meticulous attention as old masters. I studied the score, read about her life, listened to recordings, and immersed myself in the work until I formed my own interpretation. Ultimately, a genuine interpretation must come from the heart.<\/p>\n

PJ: Can you share your thoughts on the blending of European Romanticism with African American spiritual and dance traditions in this concerto?<\/em><\/p>\n

HC: As mentioned earlier, Price brought African American musical idioms into the classical forms\u2014through symphonic structures, orchestration, and pianistic writing. The piano opens the concerto with an arpeggiated cadenza that unmistakably echoes Beethoven\u2019s Emperor Concerto, while the string melody that follows, supported by broken chords in the piano, reminds me of Rachmaninoff\u2019s Second Concerto. The call and response between oboe and piano draws on African musical traditions but also resembles the dialogic phrasing used occasionally by Romantic composers. The Juba dance in the final section\u2014rooted in African American folk traditions\u2014is masterfully realized for piano and orchestra. All of this demonstrates that Price\u2019s concerto is a remarkably successful synthesis of African American and European influences, much like how Grieg, Rachmaninoff, and Dvo\u0159\u00e1k integrated their own folk heritages into classical forms.<\/p>\n

PJ: What kind of challenges or references did you run into while working on the tricky and emotional parts of the concerto?<\/em><\/p>\n

HC: As with any new composer, understanding the stylistic nuances takes time. Since this was my first time playing Price\u2019s music, I made sure to explore her other works\u2014her symphonies, songs, and piano pieces. I found that her music has a directness reminiscent of Mozart. While it allows for Romantic expression, it should never be exaggerated or self-indulgent. Her voice comes through best when the music is played with simplicity and thoughtful precision. When I later worked on her Fantasie N\u00e8gre No. 1, I was able to make interpretative decisions more instinctively.<\/p>\n

PJ: How does the one-movement structure work in terms of contrast and drama?<\/em><\/p>\n

HC: Although titled Piano Concerto in One Movement, the piece is clearly structured in three sections: fast\u2013slow\u2013fast. The opening section, in an abridged sonata form, features alternating thematic showcase between piano and orchestra. After a brief pause, the slow middle section begins with a poignant call-and-response between oboe and piano. Another short orchestral interlude leads into the final section, which features the uplifting African American Juba dance.<\/p>\n

PJ: What significance does Florence Price\u2019s role as a Black woman composer and pianist bring to your understanding of this work?<\/em><\/p>\n

HC: Her identity opens the door to understanding her inspirations. According to Rae Linda Brown\u2019s biography, Price took pride in who she was, even expressing frustration when her mother was white-passing. She didn\u2019t shy away from what she once described as the \u201chandicaps of sex and race.\u201d Price composed from a place of authenticity, choosing not to follow the avant-garde trends of her time. After learning about her life and musical language, her identity became a lens through which I could access the spirit of the music. Just as Chopin\u2019s Polish heritage was important to him, it is ultimately his music that speaks to people\u2014regardless of whether they fully grasp his cultural background; in the same way, Price\u2019s music transcends her specific identity, allowing listeners and performers to connect with its emotional depth on a universal level. While I come from a very different background, I tried to let her spirit come through in my performance. After completing the project, I was struck by how long her music was forgotten\u2014largely due to her identity. Given its brilliance, her work would not have been so long overlooked had she been someone else. This reinforces the importance of recognizing and overcoming bias, both artistically and personally.<\/p>\n

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The introducing piano candenza of Florence Price’s Piano Concerto<\/p><\/div>\n

PJ: What do you think makes this concerto a hidden gem of American music that\u2019s been rediscovered?<\/em><\/p>\n

HC: Price\u2019s concerto fills a historical gap in the American piano concerto repertoire by blending African American musical idioms with the classical form. It is both thrilling to play and deeply rewarding to listen to. More importantly, this is a work of exceptional craftsmanship and profound artistic merit. Even without its historical significance, it would still deserve a place in concert halls on the strength of its musical value alone. Rhapsody in Blue is an American classic for piano and jazz band (not originally scored for an orchestra), but perhaps the next time we think about American piano concertos, Price\u2019s Piano Concerto in One Movement should come to mind just as readily.<\/p>\n

PJ: What do you hope people get out of your recording of this concerto?<\/em><\/p>\n

HC: It has been an immense honor and joy to be part of this recording\u2014from preparation, to sessions with the Malm\u00f6 Opera Orchestra in Sweden, and now sharing it with listeners. I believe this is a strong and heartfelt interpretation of the work, and I hope those who hear it will experience the same pleasure and connection that I felt in bringing it to life.<\/p>\n

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