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Rebecca Clarke

Rebecca Clarke

Born: 27th August 1886, Harrow, England

Died: 13th October 1979, New York, U.S.A

Nationality: English

Rebecca Helferich Clarke was a British classical composer and violist. Internationally renowned as a viola virtuoso, she also became one of the first female professional orchestral players in London.

Rebecca Clarke had a German mother and an American father, and spent substantial periods of her life in the United States, where she permanently settled after World War II. She was born in Harrow and studied at the Royal Academy of Music and Royal College of Music in London. Stranded in the United States at the outbreak of World War II, she married composer and pianist James Friskin in 1944. Clarke died at her home in New York at the age of 93.

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  • Kitty Whately on Rebecca Clarke

    5th Nov 2025by Katherine Cooper

    In advance of the release of Clarke's complete songs on Signum this Friday, the British mezzo discusses her ongoing advocacy for women composers, with plans including a focus-day on Clarke at Wigmore Hall this weekend and a major new song competition early next year.

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