IDAGIO | Rebecca Clarke - Sonatas for Violin, Viola & Piano 4260330917317

Featuring

Judith Ingolfsson
Vladimir Stoupel
Rebecca Clarke

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Critical Reception

The judges of the 1919 Berkshire Music Festival competition were surprised and disbelieving to learn that the runner-up, Rebecca Clarke's Viola Sonata, was composed by a woman.

Recording & Production

This recording project was supported by the Dean's Excellence Accelerator Grant, awarded to Judith Ingolfsson by the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University.

Composer Biography

Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979) initially studied violin but switched to viola at the Royal College of Music under the guidance of her composition professor, Sir Charles Villiers Stanford.

Composition History

Rebecca Clarke's Viola Sonata was submitted anonymously to a composition competition at the Berkshire Music Festival in 1919, where it was one of two finalists.

Cultural Impact

Rebecca Clarke's compositions, particularly her songs and chamber pieces, experienced a renaissance in the 1970s after fading from prominence following World War II.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Rebecca Clarke's Viola Sonata combines influences from the Germanic tradition, the pastoral English sensibilities of Vaughan Williams, and the evocative nuances of French impressionism.

Composer Biography

Rebecca Clarke was one of the first female musicians to join a fully professional London ensemble when she was admitted to Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orchestra in 1913.