Enith Clarke

Kathleen Eileen Doris Enith Clarke (1911–1995) was an Australian pianist, noted for achieving considerable critical success in the 1940s.

Career Born in Rockhampton, Queensland, Enith Clarke showed early promise as a teenager by achieving considerable local success in the piano categories at the annual Rockhampton Eisteddfod throughout the 1920s and early 1930s. Later in her career, Clarke returned to the Rockhampton Eisteddfod and donated a special prize for the open piano section as a way to show her appreciation for the event that helped start her career.

In Rockhampton, Clarke received piano lessons from acclaimed local music teacher and soprano Florence A Sandberg,

Through successful examinations, Clarke achieved Associate in Music, Australia and the Associate of the London College of Music (ACLM) diplomas and her talents were soon receiving interest from the likes of Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Arthur Rubinstein and Wilhelm Backhaus.

In the early 1930s, Clarke relocated to Sydney to study under Russian-born pianist Alexander Sverjensky. During this time, Clarke also began performing with the ABC's live broadcasting orchestras on radio stations 4QG in Brisbane and 2BL in Sydney, marking the start of Clarke's long association with the Australian Broadcasting Commission.

Having been coached under Curt Prerauer and Maurice Abravanel with the ABC Orchestra, Clarke began an association with Alfred Hill during her time attending the Alfred Hill Academy of Music. Clarke made her concert debut on 21 July 1936 playing Liszt's Concerto in A major.

Enith Clarke's career peaked in the 1940s when she received mostly positive reviews of her work in the Sydney and Melbourne press, including from English critic Neville Cardus.

In 1948, at the suggestion of Claudio Arrau Clarke also received lessons from Walter Gieseking.

Aside from music, Clarke was known for being a competent aircraft pilot, often using planes to visit friends on remote stations in rural areas.

Shooting and fencing were other known hobbies.

Clarke had a superstition of always having a gold horseshoe tied in a handkerchief while giving piano recitals.

The marriage between Clarke and Sverjensky came to an abrupt end when Svejensky filed for divorce in December 1950 after accusing Clarke of committing adultery with three different men during their marriage.

The three co-respondents originally named in the suit were Arthur Selwyn Hurd, former police officer Emil Norton Davis, and former Consul for Portugal Alvaro Brilhante Laborinho. Hurd denied the charge, and he was dismissed from the suit with Sverjensky ordered to pay his court costs. It was also found that Clarke had committed adultery with Laborinho in Sydney, in February 1948. However, the judge did not find that Laborinho had committed adultery with Clarke.

The evidence presented during the divorce case, including discussions about nude photos, a suspected pregnancy and letters containing references to a "sugar daddy", provided substantial material for the tabloid press including Sydney's The Sun.

Later years Following her public divorce, Clarke's piano playing career failed to reach the heights it did in the 1940s, and she spent some years teaching piano at schools in Sydney such as Abbotsleigh and Meriden throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, before returning to Queensland.

Enith Clarke died in 1995.