An American Original: Anthony Philip Heinrich and his Piano Works with Native American Titles

Anthony Philip Heinrich (1781-1861) was a significant nineteenth-century composer in America, though he is all but forgotten by modern audiences. His life story is remarkable, especially the circuitous path he took to becoming a respected composer in his later life. This paper gives a summary of Heinrich’s biography and reception of his work, both from Heinrich’s contemporaries as well as more recent scholars. Heinrich strived to define himself as an American musician and composer. He wrote a large quantity of pieces with titles specific to the people and places in nineteenth-century America.Specifically, this paper explores Heinrich’s five solo piano works which feature Native American titles. The pieces are examined from the point of view of a twenty-first century performer, who may be looking for unconventional music to add to a program. Heinrich’s five pieces are stylistically typical of Western European piano music from his time. He did not use any authentic Native American musical themes in his music. Nevertheless, Heinrich was one of the first composers to depict Native American people and stories in music. Two of the pieces are dance movements with Native American titles, while the other three works are fantasy-like compositions which depict stories through music. This paper argues that Heinrich’s pieces are worthy of further study and performance.