Overcoming repeated bouts of ill health, including TB, she toured Europe and North America with several romantic encounters along the way. Composers fell over themselves to dedicate works to her and she had a wide circle of friends from other areas of life including politics, dance, literature and art.Ī still life by André Derain was one of many fine pictures in her London home – a house and a later flat were both paid for by the wealthy Bax. By then, said Crisp, it did not matter what she played, everyone was already enraptured. As she sat down her dress – 'never flashy but always extremely visible' – would spread out voluminously behind her.Īfter carefully removing jewellery from her hands, she would finally give the conductor a nod and play the first note. Then, she would bow solemnly, first to the conductor, then to the audience. The 'naked civil servant', Quentin Crisp, described how, with her 'beautiful Byzantine looks' she would wait until the audience was on the cusp of restlessness before sweeping on to the stage. Clara Klinghoffer (1900–1970) National Portrait Gallery, LondonĪlthough barely remembered today, in her prime Harriet Cohen was a mesmerising performer.
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