Elizabeth Maconchy (1907-1994) England

English composer , known for her thirteen string quartets. She was awarded the title of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

Maconchy began composing at the age of six. After the First World War, her family moved to Ireland. There she took piano lessons and her teacher advised her to study at the Royal College of Music in London, which Maconchy did from the age of 16. Her teachers included Arthur Alexander, Charles Wood, and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Her musical style developed rapidly, attracting the attention of some of the most famous musicians of the time, including Henry Joseph Wood, Donald Francis Tovey, and Gustav Holst.

Here's her Serenata Concertante for violin and orchestra. I couldn't find any of her scores, so you'll only be able to listen to them this time.

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Maconchy became interested in contemporary Central European music, particularly Béla Bartók , Alban Berg , and Leoš Janáček . At the recommendation of Vaughan Williams, Maconchy continued her studies in Prague , where her piano concerto premiered in 1930 , performed by Erwin Schulhoff . Also in 1930, her orchestral piece The Land was premiered . In 1933, she wrote her first string quartet, the first of thirteen to be written over a period of over 50 years. That same year, her quintet for oboe and strings won a prize in The Daily Telegraph Chamber Music Competition and was recorded shortly afterwards by Helen Gaskel and the Griller Quartet at HMV .

Here is the first movement of The Land and also the first movement of the Concertino for piano.

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In 1932 , Maconchy contracted tuberculosis . She moved to the countryside and was supposedly cured by her willpower. She was made a Commander of the British Empire in 1977. The last of her string quartets, Quartetto Corto , was written in 1984. Maconchy was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1987. She lived for many years in Boreham , Essex . Maconchy was President of both the Composers Guild and the Society for the Promotion of New Music. Many musicians have expressed her inspiration.

I leave you his String Quartet 13, Quartetto Corto, as well as a sonata for viola and piano (I have a weakness for the viola, in case you hadn't noticed already)