This Saturday, March 2, at 11:00am in the Jefferson Building’s Coolidge Auditorium, I look forward to participating in a special program dedicated to 20th-century composer Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979). One hundred years ago, in 1919, Clarke’s Viola Sonata was a close runner up to receive Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge’s Berkshire Prize at the second annual Berkshire Festival of Chamber Music in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Join me at Saturday’s #Declassifed event to hear the full story behind the competition and to learn more about Clarke’s life and career. After a brief talk, enjoy a live performance of the Viola Sonata with violist Katherine Murdock and pianist Audrey Andrist.
The Library of Congress, home to the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation Collection, is honored to preserve music manuscripts and papers of the countless composers, musicians, and conductors that Coolidge commissioned, hired, and with whom she interacted – including many of the most significant figures in 20th-century music. Among those papers researchers will find manuscript scores in Rebecca Clarke’s own hand, as well as folders of handwritten and typed letters from Clarke to Coolidge. Saturday’s #Declassified event will offer a display of these and related materials from the Coolidge Foundation Collection. We invite attendees to get a close-up look at the display on the stage of historic Coolidge Auditorium after enjoying the live performance.
Saturday’s event is free and open to the public; however, registration via Eventbrite is encouraged. I look forward to celebrating the remarkable Rebecca Clarke on Saturday. If you live in the DC area or will be visiting from out of town, I hope you’ll join us!
