BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert: Simon Crawford-Phillips and Friends - Rebecca Clarke, A Musical Odyssey

The Concert

Simon Crawford-Phillips celebrates the work of composer and violist Rebecca Clarke in the second of his BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert series.

The Music

During the 1919 Berkshire Chamber Music Prize, a competition jury struggled to declare a winner between two anonymous compositions for the viola: Ernest Bloche’s Suite for viola and piano and Rebecca Clarke’s Viola Sonata. After after two rounds of deliberation the Festival’s patron was called to make a decision, and narrowly awarded it to Bloche. The judges insisted the identity of the runner up be revealed and, according to Clarke, ‘you should have seen their faces when they saw it was by a woman!’

This concert features Clarke’s Sonata alongside a movement from Bloche’s Suite for viola and piano, with additional works by Bohuslav Martinů, Maurice Ravel and Béla Bartók.

The Performers

Simon Crawford-Phillips is known for his broad repertoire, to which he brings expressive sensitivity and technical brilliance. He is also a conductor, teacher, and the Artistic Director of Change Music Festival in Halland, Sweden. Joining him is Lawrence Power, widely heralded for his richness of sound, technical mastery and his passionate advocacy for new music.

Public booking opens Wednesday 16 April 10am