Description: Elizabeth Maconchy was one of the most prominent and successful composers of the twentieth century, a champion of contemporary music who composed chamber operas, choral music, orchestral works, a range of compositions and operas for children, and a highly-regarded series of string quartets. This collection explores her life and work, her Irishness and her formative years at the Royal College of Music. It examines her intersections with musical and cultural movements, and the persistent and insidious presence of sexism against which she presented a forceful, often humorous stance. There are chapters devoted to her important friendships with composers and teachers, interactions with broadcasters and festival organisers along with a focused section dedicated to the breadth and depth of Maconchy's compositions. The Irish-English composer is revealed a force to be reckoned with who frequently demonstrated a powerful instinct to thrive and survive, often against the odds.
Brief description: Justin Vickers is Distinguished Professor of Music at Illinois State University. He is the author of The Aldeburgh Festival: A History of the Britten and Pears Era, 1948-1986 (forthcoming), the co-editor of Childhood and the Operatic Imaginary since 1900 (2026) with Joy H. Calico, and Benjamin Britten in Context (2022) and Benjamin Britten Studies: Essays on An Inexplicit Art (2017), both with Vicki P. Stroeher.
Review Quotes: 'In these 33 meditations on Elizabeth Maconchy's extraordinary life and works, her music is given the space it has always deserved but has rarely been afforded. Her cultural, social, aesthetic, gendered, political, and medical environments are drawn upon in fascinating detail to shine a light on her iron will to be a composer against all the odds. This book forms an ideal introduction to Maconchy and her relevance then and - most importantly - now.' Annika Forkert, Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester