Florence Price (1887-1953) was an American composer and pianist whose prolific output spanned symphonies, concertos, chamber works, and art songs. As the first Black woman to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra, she broke significant barriers in classical music while maintaining rigorous compositional standards rooted in European tradition and African American musical idioms. Her pedagogical works demonstrate the same care and sophistication she brought to her concert pieces, offering students meaningful material that expanded the piano repertoire available to them.
