Viola Sonata orchestration by Ruth Lomon now available for performance

Rebecca Clarke’s Viola Sonata caused a sensation when it tied for first place in a 1919 chamber music competition. Although an immediate success, the Sonata gradually disappeared from the repertoire, and Clarke was long forgotten. Since the rediscovery of the Sonata in 1976, it has become (according to some noted violists) the most frequently performed large work for viola and piano.

The new orchestration was premiered on June 8, 2007. (more information about the premiere.) We continue to look for for orchestras and violists bring this work to new audiences.Composer Ruth Lomon has created a masterful orchestration of Clarke’s Sonata. Patricia McCarty, whose 1985 recording of the Sonata was a landmark in its rediscovery, is one of many violists who are enthusiastic about this new arrangement. According to McCarty,

Complementing but not overwhelming the viola line, the impressionistic colors and textures of Ruth Lomon’s orchestration of the Rebecca Clarke Sonata offer listeners an opportunity to hear this work on a grand scale, making new friends for this work long beloved by viola players.

Clarke wrote for her own instrument, the viola; her idiomatic understanding adds to the work’s immediacy. In three movements, “Impetuoso,” “Vivace” and “Adagio — Allegro,” it is powerful and expansive in scale. The second movement, an exuberant scherzo, can be performed as a stand-alone piece for a pops orchestra or when a shorter work featuring viola is desired.

Since the 2007 performance, the score has been carefully proofread and revised: we are happy to send PDF excerpts of the score, contact us at e-mail info@rebeccaclarke.org (please include “Clarke” in your subject line).

Ruth Lomon has won wide recognition for her own music, including her Bassoon Concerto and Terra Incognito for orchestra. These were both recorded on the MMC New Century label and received enthusiastically. Lomon has also recorded on the CRI and Capstone labels, and her trumpet Concerto, Odyssey, was commissioned by the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, which they premiered with trumpeter Charles Schleuter.
Learn more about composer Ruth Lomon, who has completed the orchestration of Clarke’s Sonata.

We invite you to be in touch with us.
The Rebecca Clarke Society, Inc.
phone 617-776-1809 (press #2 and leave a voice message),
e-mail info@rebeccaclarke.org (please include “Clarke” in your subject line)
Mailing address:
Women’s Studies Research Center
Brandeis University, MS 079
Waltham, MA 02454-9110