WorldView Episode 55: Elizabeth Maconchy
Welcome back to regular WorldView programming! In episode fifty-five, I celebrate the last week of Women’s History Month by sharing works written by four female composers. The episode concludes with a short choral work by Irish-English composer Elizabeth Maconchy, often considered one of the greatest composers ever to come from either Great Britain or Ireland.
Dame Elizabeth Violet Maconchy LeFanu was born in Hertfordshire, England, in March of 1907. Her parents were of Irish descent, and the family moved to Ireland when Maconchy was ten years old. She began her musical studies in Dublin, and later attended the Royal College of Music in London. At the RCM, Maconchy was instructed in composition by Ralph Vaughan Williams (WorldView episode 27); many of her early works were influenced by the style of Hungarian composer Béla Bařtók (WorldView episode 1).
In March of 1930, Maconchy’s Piano Concerto debuted in Prague. The concert served as her first moment of public recognition. A few years later, Maconchy and several other female composers started a small concert series for women artists in London; the series had a profound affect on London’s music scene and served as a valuable opportunity for female composers to showcase their work. In 1939, while briefly living in Ireland, Maconchy completed her “Fifth String Quartet”, widely considered to be her greatest work.
Maconchy’s style is often likened to those of Bařtók and Britten, as well as several classical composers. In many of her over 200 surviving opus works, the composer emphasized particular smaller intervals and constructed compositions around central harmonic themes. In episode fifty-five of WorldView, the Choir of St. John’s College, Cambridge and director Christopher Robinson perform Maconchy’s “There is No Rose.” The work was completed in 1984.
WorldView Episode Fifty-Five Playlist:
Joan TOWER, “Silver Ladders”, {Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin} - Meet the Composer
Agathe GRONDAHL, “Suite for Piano, Op. 20”, {Charlotte Mueller (pf)} - MSR Classics
Nancy DALBERG, “Scherzo for String Orchestra, Op. 6”, {Danish Philharmonic Orchestra, Frans Rasmussen} - Dacapo
Elizabeth MACONCHY, “There is No Rose”, {Choir of St. John’s College, Cambridge, Christoper Robinson} - Nimbus Records
WorldView is a classical music radio show featuring composers from everywhere in the world - except Western Europe. Tune in to hear works by lesser-known artists such as Nancy Dalberg and Isang Yun, and widen your knowledge of classical music. Hinke Younger hosts each week’s episode of WorldView on Mondays at 9AM and 6PM (with a rebroadcast Saturdays at 2PM) on Charlottesvilleclassical.org.