WorldView Episode 16: Rebecca Clarke
With very little classical training in performance and composition, Rebecca Clarke became one of the most prominent virtuoso violists of the 20th century. One of the first recognized female professional orchestra musicians of all time, Clarke championed other women in the field through her compositions and chamber groups.
Born in England in 1886, Rebecca Helferich Clarke did not originally plan to pursue music; only after she sat in on some of her younger brother’s lessons did she start actively practicing violin. However, she learned quickly. By 1903, Clarke was studying at the Royal Academy of Music, but transferred to the London Royal College of Music a few years later. There, under the instruction of Sir Charles Stanford, she shifted focus from violin to viola and began composing. Her lessons were cut short in 1910 after she discovered her father’s affairs and was cut off from family funding. Despite this, Clarke began a career in solo performance that eventually made her one of the most famous female violists of the 20th century.
In 1918, Clarke and cellist May Mukle premiered as a duo in the United States. In their first concert, Clarke’s own composition Morpheus—written under the pseudonym of “Anthony Trent”—was performed and met with great acclaim. Many of the works written under her own name were ignored until late in the century. Beginning in the 1920s, Clarke founded and joined several all-female chamber groups, including the Nora Clench Quartet and English Ensemble. Both ensembles were highly praised and performed works from a wide variety of musical periods.
When WWII broke out in Europe, Clarke was trapped in the United States. She eventually became a governess in Connecticut, and married her friend James Friskin in 1944: her marriage marked the end of her performance and composition career. Despite encouragement from her husband, Clarke struggled with depression and was unable to focus on music, writing only a few arrangements in the last third of her life. She died in 1979, at the age of 93.
Episode sixteen of WorldView features one of Clarke’s best known works—“Viola Sonata No. 1”—performed by Matthew Jones and Michael Hampton. The piece was written in 1919, and entered into a competition sponsored by Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, Clarke’s friend and patron of the arts. “Viola Sonata” is similar in style to many of her other earlier works; often compared to those of Debussy, many of these pieces feature modern harmonic techniques and romantic themes.
| WorldView Episode Sixteen Playlist:
Arnold BAX, “The Tale the Pine-Tress Knew”, {Ulster Orchestra, Bryden Thomson} – Chandos Rebecca CLARK, “Viola Sonata No. 1”, {Matthew Jones (vla), Michael Hampton (pf)} – Naxos Chen YI, “Shuo”, {Ying Quartet} – Telarc Silvestre REVUELTAS, “Sensemayá”, {Aguascalientes Symphony Orchestra, Enriques Barrios} } – Naxos |
WorldView is a classical music radio show featuring composers from everywhere in the world – except Western Europe. Tune in to hear works by lesser-known artists such as Gabriela Montero and Bright Sheng, and widen your knowledge of classical music. Hinke Younger hosts each week’s episode of WorldView on Mondays at 9AM and again at 6PM on Charlottesvilleclassical.org.
