JAVS Fall 2006

BooK REvrEw A REBECCA C LARKE READER

Reviewed by Dwight Pounds

What Clarke referred to as her "mini revival" began musically with a 1976 birthday tribute broad easton WQXR Radio thar

Before examining the Rebecca Cltzrke Reader itself, it might prove useful to place the Anglo-American composer, Rebecca Clarke (1886 1979) , in historical perspective. She is a rel atively new phenome non in the viola world as ir ex isrs in 2006 and as such it sometime is difficult for us to imagine that she was a contemporary of our grandparents and great-grandpar ents. She was six yea rs of age when Johannes Brahms died (1892) and was already a mature woman of 32-33 in 19 19 when she entered her viola sonata in the Coolidge Competition. Lionel Terris, who was at the height of his powers (and with whom she studied viola) , and is referenced in the book but Wi ll iam Primrose is not. The vast majority of Rebecca Clarke's career, both as a composer and chamber music violist, was pre-Primrose. Hers was the world of Ralph Vaughan Wi ll iams, Arnold Ba.x, York Bowen, Myra Hess, Gustav Holst, Ernest Bloch, Maurice Ravel , William Walton , Pau l Hindemi th and Lionel Terris. She lived ro see rhe onset or in ter national viola congresses bur attended none, nor do they appear to be mentioned in any documents released to dare by her estate. She di ed in 1979, the year that Congress Vll convened in Provo, Utal1, in her 93rd year.

included her Viola Sonata. The perform ance by Toby Appel (viola)

and Emanuel Ax (piano) possibly was its Grst pub lic presentation in decades. T he

program also included her Piano Trio and three songs. ·loby Appel also presented the first performance Clarke, ca. 1910, at the Royal College ofMusic. of the Viola Used with permission. onata at a viola congress in 1987 Ithaca (Congress XIX in 1991) and at Congress XV in Ann Arbor. The Evanston congresses respectively.

composition qui ckly proved popu lar and was performed by Csaba Erdelyi at Congress XVIl in 1989 in Redl ands, A, and by Paul oletti at Evanston in 1993 ar ongrcss XXT. Likewise it quickly spread ro student ranks-Ki rsten Docter and Kathryn Lockwood played it as part of their Primrose Competition programs at rhe

Prelude to Publication: The Rebecca Clark ociety released chis bulletin on August1 5, 2005: The Rebecca Cltzrke Society has pro duced f1 new printing ofA Rtl;ecC/l Chrke Reade;; a volume a_( writings by and ctbout British-born composer and violist Rebecca Clttrke (1886 1979). PreviousLy published by

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