Elisabeth Lutyens has held an important place in my musical heart since I was quite young. I first heard about her in an interview with the composer Alison Bauld on Andrew Ford’s The Music Show. Alison talked about her time studying with Lutyens, and I think they played a piece of hers. I think they also mentioned that Elisabeth had worked with Dylan Thomas, who I was obsessed with in high school. I sought out some of Elisabeth’s music - a tricky thing to do with very few recordings around of it and not a lot of acknowledgment of her in musicological writing of the time.
She had an amazing career across a number of musical areas, putting her tense, extreme style to some very well done horror movie scores.
I tracked down this interview with her with the BBC in 1970, speaking some great truths about the discussion around female composers and the choice we’ve made to be a composer, and entitlement that can follow an artist.
As I mentioned, her work is a little hard to find, especially in Australia. I doubt many of her works have been performed here. She also seems to get a bad wrap because of her introduction of the 12 tone method to the UK and the sour reaction people have to this music.
Works of Elisabeth’s I would recommend would be the 2nd Chamber Horn Concerto & Quincunx.