Tippett and the Piano
The piano was central to Michael Tippett's existence as a composer. He wrote a number of important pieces for the instrument, notably four solo piano sonatas, which span virtually the whole of his career; his highly individual Piano Concerto (1955) followed an earlier attempt at a concertante piece, the Fantasia on a theme of Handel (1943.)
For a period of about 25 years, from his Symphony No.2 (1957) to The Mask of Time (1980/82), the piano became a pivotal feature of Tippett's orchestration: particularly so, from his opera King Priam onwards, when he replaced the standard homogeneous masses of orchestral sonority with a mosaic of interacting ensembles. Only in his very last works, from New Year (1985-88) to The Rose Lake (1992) was the piano excluded: it was not so much that he felt that he had exhausted its possibilities, but rather that other instrumental resources - notably synthesiser, electric guitars, exotic percussion - offered potential for a fresh sonic canvas. Above all, Tippett always composed at the piano: it provided a point of entry into an imaginative world of musical colours that sometimes included the piano, sometimes not. By such means, he was able to conjure up new sound-worlds for each composition in turn.
The creative centrality of the piano in Tippett's music was the starting-point of an extended article by composer Philip Clark in a recent issue of the magazine International Piano (September/October, pp.38-53 ). It is well worth reading, both because it provides a perceptive introduction to each of his piano-centred compositions, with assessments that are not always those of received opinion, and because it sets them in the context of Tippett's development and that of contemporary music in general.
When William Glock reviewed the first (privately made) recording of Tippett's First Piano Sonata, by Phyllis Sellick, in 1943, he observed that, together with his String Quartet No. 2, it expressed "unrestricted pleasure in using new techniques rather than in conveying some personal doctrine". In 2003, Clark is no less captivated: "[The] degree of rhythmic complexity must have felt unheralded in Britain of the late 1930s, but has been so clearly assembled in Tippett_s inner ear that it feels perfectly natural."
Clark's article benefits greatly from the experience passed on by Paul Crossley, the pianist most closely associated with the composer from the mid 1960s onwards and whose performances of the sonatas and Piano Concerto were chiefly responsible for establishing them in the repertory. His recordings of the sonatas (ASV) - the third and fourth of which were written specially for him - are landmarks in Tippett interpretation. It is a pity that Crossley has to date still not made a studio recording of the Piano Concerto; maybe this will happen one day - or perhaps a recording of one of his many live performances will be made commercially available.
Paul Crossley
Meanwhile, inspired by Crossley's example, these works are in the repertory of a quite diverse range of international pianists, from Murray Perahia to Oliver Schnyder. A rival set of recordings of the sonatas by Nicholas Unwin, the first three for Chandos, the Fourth recorded for Metier, as one of a sequence involving different young pianists, offer a new, staggeringly virtuosic approach. Benjamin Frith's recording of the Piano Concerto for Naxos joins the growing list of those who have championed Tippett's Piano Concerto - amongst them, Emanuel Ax, Martino Tirimo and Peter Donohoe.
In the next few years we can look forward especially to further live performances and recordings of all these works from Steven Osborne.
Creative re-appraisal of Tippett's musical legacy by today's composers is an important way of ensuring it remains relevant and influential for future generations. Maybe other musical journals and magazines with appropriate specialist focus should mark Tippett's forthcoming centenary by commissioning other composers to write on his choral music, his operas, string quartets etc, examining these works from their own creative standpoints and gauging to what extent they can be regarded as beacons for the future.
International Piano is published by Orpheus Publications Ltd, 200 Renfield St, Glasgow, G2 3PR, UK. E-Mail: intpiano.subs@magazines.newsquest.co.uk Details of all recordings of Tippett's piano music can be found in the Chronological Discography section of this website.