The Sofa by Maconchy, The Departure by Maconchy, L 17 nov 2007, Alates (2007/2007), Juhatatud Alessandro Talevi, Dirigent Dominic Wheeler, Sadler's Wells, London, United Kingdom

The Sofa and The Departure. These wonderfully surreal and yet contrasting works were composed between 1956 and 1961 and premiered at Sadler’s Wells. Elizabeth Maconchy was born in Hertfordshire in 1907 but grew up in rural Ireland. She studied under Ralph Vaughn Williams at the Royal College of Music in London, but eschewed English pastoralism for the sophisticated modernism of Central Europe embodied by Bartók and Janáček. After completing her studies in Prague she returned to England, and in the post-war era was much in demand with the leading orchestras, ensembles and soloists of the day. In 1987 she was appointed Dame of the British Empire in recognition of her services to music. She died in 1994.