classical · english · contemporary classical

Rebecca Clarke

classicalenglishcontemporary classicalcomposer

162

Deezer fans

12 032

Last.fm listeners

162

Deezer fans

12 032

Last.fm listeners

Listen on Deezer ↗

Keep listening

About

Rebecca Clarke (1886–1979) was an English composer and violist, best known for her chamber music featuring the viola. She is considered one of the most important British composers in the period between World War I and World War II; she has also been described as the most distinguished British female composer of her generation. Clarke was born on the 27th August 1886 in Harrow on the Hill, Middlesex, England, to Joseph Thacher Clarke, an American, and his German wife, Agnes Paulina Marie Amalie Helferich. Her father was interested in music, and had her take up the violin at the age of nine. She began her studies at the Royal Academy of Music in 1903, but was withdrawn by her father in 1905 after teacher Percy Hilder Miles proposed to her (he later left her his Stradivarius violin in his will). She then attended the Royal College of Music from 1907 to 1910, becoming one of Charles Villiers Stanford's first female composition students. At Stanford's urging she shifted her focus from the violin to the viola, just as the latter was coming to be seen as a legitimate solo instrument. She studied with Lionel Tertis. In 1910 she composed a setting of Chinese poetry, called "Tears", in collaboration with a group of fellow students at RCM. She also sang under the direction of Ralph Vaughan Williams in a student ensemble organised by Clarke to study and perform Palestrina's music. Following her criticism of his extra-marital affairs, Clarke's father turned her out of the house and cut off her funds. She had to leave the Royal College in 1910, and supported herself through her viola playing. Clarke became one of the first female professional orchestral musicians when she was selected by Henry Wood to play in the Queen's Hall Orchestra in 1912.

Source: Last.fm

Upcoming dates

No known upcoming dates yet. Add this artist to your alerts to be notified.

Never miss a date

Use “Follow” at the top of the page to get an email alert as soon as a date is announced near you.

Latest tracks

DeezerOpen ↗

Rebecca Clarke

You may also like

You may also like

Latest tracks