Elizabeth Maconchy (1907–1994)

Elizabeth Maconchy was born in England to Irish parents and grew up in rural Ireland, playing the piano and writing music as a youngster. At the age of 16, she entered the Royal College of Music in London and studied with Ralph Vaughan Williams and Charles Wood. She went to Prague for further study in 1929. In 1930, she married William LeFanu, a medical librarian and editor, with whom she had two daughters. A week after the wedding, Elizabeth Maconchy's career was launched when her orchestral suite "The Land" was performed at the London Proms. Her 1933 quintet for oboe and strings won a prize in the London Daily Telegraph Chamber Music Competition, and was recorded by the Griller Quartet. Elizabeth Maconchy is best known for her chamber music, but she was a prolific composer of great versatility and created many works in many genres. Besides seven operas, she wrote orchestral works, a ballet, piano pieces, and choral and solo vocal pieces. She became the first woman to chair the Composers’ Guild of Great Britain (now BASCA) in 1959. Dame Elizabeth was awarded the Cobbett Medal in 1960, and was appointed CBE and then DBE by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of her contributions to music. Her daughter Nicola LeFanu also became a composer.