Florence Beatrice Price was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on April 9, 1887. She began music lessons with her mother at an early age and already had her first recital under her belt by age 4. She graduated from High School at the age of 16, at which point she began her formal musical training at the illustrious New England Conservatory. Price became the first black female composer to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra when Music Director Frederick Stock and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra played the world premiere of her Symphony No. 1 in E minor on June 15, 1933.

Florence Price’s second string quartet is a masterclass in the blending of mid twentieth century compositional style and blues and African dance idioms. Each movement employs a mix of traditional classical styles and blues-inspired melodies and themes. The third movement in particular is inspired by Juba dance, a lively form of African dance that includes body-slapping, foot-stomping, and hand-clapping.