Liza Lehmann

Liza Lehmann (11 July 1862 – 19 September 1918) was an English operatic soprano and composer, known for her vocal compositions.

After vocal studies with Alberto Randegger and Jenny Lind, and composition studies with teachers including Hamish MacCunn, Lehmann made her singing debut in 1885 in London and pursued a concert career for nearly a decade. In 1894, she married and left the stage. She then concentrated on composing music, becoming known for song cycles, art songs, parlour songs and children's songs. She also composed several pieces for the stage and wrote a textbook on singing. In 1910, she toured the United States, where she accompanied her own songs in recitals. She was the first president of the Society of Women Musicians and became a professor of singing at the Guildhall School of Music in 1913.

She was born Elisabetha Nina Mary Frederica Lehmann in London. Her father was the German painter Rudolf Lehmann, and her mother was Amelia (A.L.) Chambers, a music teacher, composer and arranger. Lehmann "grew up in an intellectual and artistic atmosphere" and lived in Germany, France and Italy in her early years. She studied singing in London with both Alberto Randegger and Jenny Lind, and her composition teachers included Hamish MacCunn in London, Niels Raunkilde in Rome, and Wilhelm Freudenberg in Wiesbaden.

On 23 November 1885, she made her singing debut at a Monday Popular Concert at St James's Hall, and spent the next nine years performing many important concert engagements in England. She received encouragement from important European musicians such as Joseph Joachim and Clara Schumann. She retired from the stage after a final concert at St James's Hall on 14 July 1894, married the composer and painter Herbert Bedford and turned to composing music.

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