An important part of the viola repertoire comes from British composer and violist Rebecca Clarke. Despite a difficult childhood under her father's strict Victorian upbringing, she made her mark as a composer and virtuoso violist, leaving a significant legacy in music history. Today, she is considered one of the most important British composers of the interwar period. Clarke's work focuses primarily on chamber music, especially for the viola, whose expressive possibilities she mastered as a long-time soloist. Her Sonata for Viola and Piano, composed in 1919 and characterised by dense harmonies and strong emotional expression, is now considered a standard work in the viola repertoire. Clarke's music combines influences from late Impressionism, Neoclassicism, English folk music and Far Eastern sounds.
