The composer Elisabeth Lutyens and her second husband, the conductor and music programmer Edward Clark, were innovators in composition, conducting, programming, teaching, and music administration in Britain between 1918 and 1983. Controversial in their professional and personal views and tastes, their achievements obscured by layers of anecdote and some self-inflicted reputational harm, this book critically re-assesses their roles as cornerstones of structures and developments in British music that we now take for granted. Key to understanding their central roles in orchestrating musical progress is the ambiguous role of influence in their work and the intimate connections between British and European music. This study critically charts their professional lives in music, taking a holistic approach to contextualise Lutyens and Clark's multifaceted work in music historically, music-analytically, and culturally.

‘A multifaceted and critical examination of the role of Elisabeth Lutyens in British musical life … Forkert’s methodology is particularly significant for its linking of musical influence, reception, and context, allowi[ng] for a more nuanced and complete picture of Lutyens.’

Aidan McGartland Source: Journal of the American Musicological Society