Una compositrice: Rebecca Clarke

Mainly known in the Anglo-Saxon world, English viola player and composer Rebecca Clarke is among the leading exponents in the British musical world of the first half of the Twentieth Century. A creative and versatile personality, Clarke was very active as a composer and musician, performing both as a soloist and in chamber ensembles, and often collaborating with the greatest artists of her time. Her most famous work, the Sonata for Viola and Piano (1919), is one of the most important pieces of the viola repertoire. A formal analysis of the piece highlights the singularity of its stylistic aspects. Its peculiarities can also be understood in a historical and social perspective, addressing the issue of gender in the first half of the Twentieth Century. As a matter of fact, with the Sonata reflecting to all appearances the rules of the sonata form, Rebecca Clarke actually subverts traditional female roles in the music world, at the same time proving the existence of gender equality in music composition.