Inkermezzo is so grateful to the @americanviolasociety for commissioning this portrait of Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge in connection with an article about her incredible patronage. The issue is available today, read all about her! https://www.americanviolasociety.org/
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Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge was an incredible patron of classical music, spending her fortune on the promotion of chamber music in particular. Her establishment of a composition competition helped expand repertoire for viola (and other instruments), awarding the 1919 Berkshire Prize to Block’s Suite for Viola and Piano and Clarke’s Sonata for Viola and Piano. She supported other composers such as Bartók, Barber, Britten, Copland, Ravel, Prokofiev, and Stravinsky.