“Artistic Women of New Hampshire” is the title of the Monadnock Lyceum program at the Unitarian Universalist Church on Sunday, July 24.
Concert pianist Virginia Eskin will present a talk and musical performance focusing on three artistic women who came to Cheshire County and lived here during important parts of their creative years. Novelist Willa Cather, 1873-1949, summered in Jaffrey and is buried in the cemetery by the Meetinghouse; painter Lilla Cabot Perry, 1848-1933, settled in Hancock; and composer Amy Beach, 1867-1944, was born in Henniker and spent many summers at the MacDowell Colony.
As part of her presentation, Eskin will quote excerpts from Cather’s writings, including her extensive use of musical references. Beach’s prolific career included important premieres with the Boston Symphony, both as a performer and composer. She and Marian MacDowell were close friends in Peterborough, and Beach left a substantial legacy to the MacDowell Colony. Eskin will perform examples of Beach’s superb piano compositions that were composed in New Hampshire. The presentation will pay homage to New Hampshire and the creative women it nourished.
Eskin, a Boston and New Hampshire resident, is a versatile internationally recognized solo pianist, chamber player and lecturer, known for both standard classical repertoire and ragtime. She is a long-time champion of the works of American and European women composers.
The Lyceum, which begins promptly at 11 a.m., is free and open to the public. Donations are appreciated.
For more information, visit monadnocklyceum.org.