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Elizabeth Maconchy Wikipedia

Elizabeth Maconchy (born March 19, 1907 in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire; died November 11, 1994) was an England|English composer of Ireland|Irish parentage, most noted for her cycle of thirteen string quartet|string quartets.

She began to compose at the age of six. After the First World War, her family moved to Ireland. Here she took piano lessons, but was advised by her teacher to study at the Royal College of Music, London, which she duly did from the age of sixteen. Her teachers included Arthur Alexander (piano), Charles Wood and Ralph Vaughan Williams (both musical composition|composition). Here she became interested in the contemporary music of Central Europe, particularly B??la Bart??k|Bart??k, Alban Berg|Berg and Leo?? Jan????ek|Jan????ek. On the recommendation of Vaughan Williams, Maconchy undertook further study in Prague, where her piano concerto was premiered in 1930, the same year in which Henry Wood premiered her orchestral piece The Land, and in which she married William LeFanu.

In 1932 Maconchy developed tuberculosis. She moved to the country and managed to recover from the disease. In 1933 she wrote her first string quartet, perhaps the medium for which she was best known. After the difficulties of the war years, Maconchy began to receive a large number of commissions, and composed much music for orchestra, chamber groups and voices. She also wrote three operas: The Sofa (1957), The Departure (1961) and The Three Strangers (1967). She received a CBE in 1977. The last of her celebrated string quartets, the thirteenth (subtitled Quartetto Corto) was written in 1984. Maconchy was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1987.

The composer Nicola LeFanu is the second of Maconchy's two daughters with William LeFanu.

Category:1907 births|Maconchy
Category:1994 deaths|Maconchy
Category:20th century classical composers|Maconchy
Category:English composers|Maconchy
Category:Women composers|Maconchy

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Last Modified:   2005-12-19