Decca
2005
Tippett: Piano Sonatas 1-3; String Quartets 1-3; Fantasia Concertante; etc.
About This Album
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Anyone who loves twentieth century music, who loves English music, or who just plain loves music will love this collection of the music of Michael Tippett. Culled from previously issued but long out-of-print Philips, London, Argo, and l'Oiseau-Lyre LPs, most of these recordings were world premieres made in close consultation with the composer and in the hands of conductors Colin Davis, Georg Solti, Neville Marriner, pianist Paul Crossley, and the Lindsay String Quartet, they receive what can fairly be described as definitive performances. From the ecstatic lyricism of the Suite for Double String Orchestra of 1939 through the luminous vitality of the First Symphony of 1945, the radiant sensuality of the Ritual Dances of 1955, the blues-based modernism of the Third Symphony of 1972, to the glistening transcendentalism of the Fourth Symphony of 1977, Tippett's unique fusion of line, drive, color, and form is performed throughout with passionate dedication and absolute faith in the music's greatness. Inevitably, there are glaring omissions. None of Tippett's operas are here and nor are his last two string quartets or his final piano sonata. But these losses are compensated for by bonuses like the warmly angular Sonata for Four Horns from 1955 performed by the Barry Tuckwell Horn Quartet or the brief but brilliant Fanfare for Brass from 1943 performed by the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble. Reissued in Decca's uniformly transparent sound, this is surely one of the best and most important releases of the year. ~ James Leonard, All Music Guide
Track List

Disc 1

Piano Sonata No. 1
1.
2.
3.
4.
Piano Sonata No. 2
5.
Piano Sonata No. 3
6.
7.
8.
Fanfare No.1 For 4 Horns, 3 Trumpets & 3 Trombones
9.
Sonata For 4 Horns
10.
11.
12.
13.

Disc 2

String Quartet No.1
1.
2.
3.
String Quartet No.2
4.
5.
6.
7.
String Quartet No.3
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

Disc 3

Fantasia Concertante On A Theme Of Corelli, For String Orchestra
1.
Concerto For Double String Orchestra
2.
3.
4.
Triple Concerto, For Violin, Viola, Cello & Orchestra
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Disc 4

Symphony No. 1
1.
2.
3.
4.
Symphony No. 2
5.
6.
7.
8.
Little Music, For String Orchestra
9.

Disc 5

Symphony No.3 For Soprano & Orchestra
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Ritual Dances From "The Midsummer Marriage", For Chorus Ad Lib & Orchestra
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.

Disc 6

Suite (for The Birthday Of Prince Charles), For Orchestra In D Major
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Concerto For Orchestra
6.
7.
8.
Symphony No. 4
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

 
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