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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 December 2023
On the surface, the year 1956 seemed both successful and highly productive. In addition to completing her Concerto for Oboe, Bassoon, and String Orchestra (1955–6) as well as a series of part songs for St Mary's School, Maconchy also arranged A Country Town for small orchestra for the school, composed a new work titled String Trio, and wrote two new songs for voice and piano. Although domestic responsibilities continued to take priority over her career, as indicated by her appointment diary, she was nevertheless able to make an increasing number of trips to London to attend concerts and Composers’ Guild meetings.
Though performances outside the UK and Ireland continued to remain rare, on 7 November, the Quintet for Oboe and Strings (1933) was featured in a broadcast in Denmark. The mastermind behind the broadcast was violist Richard Dahl Eriksen, who had played in the orchestra for the performance of Maconchy's Concertino for Clarinet and String Orchestra at the ISCM Festival in Copenhagen. This trajectory of events demonstrates just how vital a role the ISCM Festivals played in promoting the works of composers such as Maconchy to international audiences.
Maconchy's improved relationship with the BBC also led to a number of broadcasts in 1956. Of these, the majority were on the Third Programme and restricted to small-scale works. Although there were plans for another broadcast of the Symphony for Double String Orchestra in March, the programme was unfortunately cancelled and Maconchy had to wait another year before it was included in a Third Programme broadcast on 10 March 1957. Some of her works, however, were featured in much more desirable slots on the Home Service, with a broadcast of the String Quartet No. 5 on 15 March, and Proud Thames taking place on 26 November.
While it was surely a relief for Maconchy to have her music featured more frequently in broadcasts, she continued to find herself dissatisfied with the quality of performances. With musicians often asked to learn her works at short notice, combined with an inadequate number of rehearsals, dismal outcomes could hardly be surprising.
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