accomplishment was the collection of
bird songs, of which she now possesses a complete volume. Her skill in
this direction was employed by ornithologists in obtaining the notes
sung by the California larks.

Her more serious musical education was pursued under Mr. Ernst Perabo at
first, and afterward under Junius W. Hill, of Wellesley College, and
Carl Baermann. Under Professor Hill she took a single course of harmony,
but in all the important subjects of counterpoint, fugue, musical form,
and instrumentation, she carried on her work entirely alone. Among the
tasks she set for herself was the translation of the books on
orchestration by Berlioz and Gevaert. Another consisted in memorizing
Bach fugues and rewriting them with a voice on each staff.

She made her Boston debut as a pianist in 1883, at the age of sixteen,
playing a Moscheles concerto and a Chopin rondo. Her success was
instantaneous, and in the same season she gave several recitals with
similar result. In the next year she played a Chopin concerto with the
Boston Symphony Orchestra, and a Mendelssohn work with the Thomas
Orchestra. Since then she has appeared constantly in all of our large
cities, often devoting whole programmes to her own works. At one of the
Symphony concerts she brought out her own concerto. In December, 1885,
she married Doctor Beach, and has since then made Boston her permanent
home.

The first performances of her large works have often been events of
importance. In 1892, when she brought out her mass in E flat at the
Handel and Haydn concerts, she was on the programme for the piano part
of Beethoven's Choral Fantasie, and the ovation she received on her
appearance will not soon be forgotten by those present. Her "Jubilate"
cantata was written for the dedication of the women's building at the
Chicago Exposition, and scored a great success there. During the fair,
she played for the first time her romance for violin and piano, in
conjunction with Miss Maud Powell. A violin sonata, which she composed
later and played with Mr. Franz Kneisel, has become a favourite with the
most famous artists in Paris, Berlin, London, and other great musical
centres. The same popularity and favourable mention have been accorded
to her piano pieces and songs, the Italian audiences especially becoming
enthusiastic over some of the latter.

Her Gaelic Symphony, built on real Gaelic themes, was another ambitious
work. It was first given at Boston in 1896,