The Smoky Topaz, published in 1901 by Whitney Warner in Detroit. Her treatment of form in The Smoky Topaz shows her maturity as a teenage composer; the piece features an eight-measure introduction and an expansive, tonally adventurous bridge between repetitions of the C section. The Smoky Topaz is not a mere pianistic showpiece—it has great emotional depth—yet does contain melodic octave runs and cascading arpeggios.
Biographical information on Grace M. Bolen can be found at wikipedia.org and ragpiano.com. The score for The Smoky Topaz (spelled “Smokey Topaz” on the site) can be downloaded at imslp.org.
