Elizabeth Maconchy in Context by Justin Vickers

Elizabeth Maconchy in Context by Justin Vickers

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.

'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 affordedHer 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

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. Lucy Walker is an independent scholar, speaker, and writer on classical music of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Her recent research activities have focussed on the cultural representation of all-female communities in a variety of historical contexts. Walker has written programme essays for the Salzburg Festival, London Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Opera, English National Opera, the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, and the BBC Proms, among many more.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781009307116
ISBN 10	1009307118
Title	Elizabeth Maconchy in Context
Author	Justin Vickers
Series	Composers In Context
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Year published	2026-04-30
Number of pages	350
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.