AbstractsWomens Studies

Rebecca Clarke’s Sonata for Viola and Piano (1919) is one of the few works by a female composer considered standard repertoire for violists. One of the first generation of women to study at the Royal College of Music, Clarke’s gender clearly influenced her compositions. Feminist musicologist Susan McClary has written extensively about the gendered implications of the sonata form; she argues that the late 19th-century sonata form is in essence the story of a male protagonist defeating feminine threats to his masculinity. When the composer is a woman, like Clarke, the possibility that this formula is either consciously or unconsciously subverted by the composer must be considered. Several scholars have noted that Clarke’s sonata in some ways appears to subvert the typical sonata narrative. Clarke’s countrywoman Pamela Harrison also composed her own Sonata for Viola and Piano in 1946; this piece is examined through the lens of the previous scholarship on the Clarke sonata. Performance applications are also suggested. Advisors/Committee Members: McBride Daline, Matthew (Advisor).