Michael Tippett

'A delight to read' Philip Pullman 'Essential reading ... a genuine landmark publication' Tom Service A BBC Radio 4 'Book of the Week' The music of the British composer Michael Tippett - including the oratorio A Child of Our Time, five operas, and four symphonies - is among the most visionary of the twentieth century. But little has been written about his extraordinary life. In this long-awaited first biography, Oliver Soden weaves a century-spanning narrative of epic scope and penetrating insight. Soden has discovered troves of unpublished letters and manuscripts, and recorded moving interviews with Tippett's friends and colleagues. He paints a portrait of a powerful intellect and infectious personality: charming, stubborn, and great fun. But he also uncovers the sorrows and secrets that Tippett stowed away beneath his cheerfulness, not least the darker reaches of some tempestuous and often tragic love affairs. Soden's achievement is to have enriched our understanding not only of Tippett but of his times. Figures such as T.S. Eliot, E.M. Forster, Barbara Hepworth, and W.H. Auden jostle in the cast list. An Edwardian world of gaslight and empire cedes to turmoil and warfare; one startling revelation is the extent of Tippett's involvement in the fiery left-wing politics of the 1930s. The narrative roves from the mining villages of the north, blighted by unemployment, to a cell at Wormwood Scrubs, where Tippett was imprisoned as a conscientious objector. Later chapters uncover his operas' game-changing attitudes to gay and civil rights, against a backdrop of the Cold War and the Space Race. And singing from the page comes the music, through which Soden charts an exquisitely written course, offering lucid readings of Tippett's most famous works while resuscitating forgotten masterpieces. The result is a landmark in the study of twentieth-century culture, simultaneously an astonishing feat of scholarship and a story as enthralling as in any great novel.

English National Opera Guides are ideal companions to the opera. They provide stimulating introductory articles together with the complete text of each opera in English and the original where appropriate. Although it is impossible to trace any one particular theme running through the operas of Michael Tippett, the libretti of his four operas are fascinating to compare. The dense allusions of The Midsummer Marriage (1955), here annotated, gave way to the classical formality of King Priam (1962); the psycho-analytical preoccupations of The Knot Garden (1970) hardly foreshadow the contemporary political commentary of The Ice Break (1977). Each work breaks new ground and provokes unexpected responses. The libretti offer unique introductions to the music. They incidentally throw a searching light on the direction of British theatre since 1945.

Sir Michael Tippett is widely considered to be one of the most individual composers of the twentieth century, whose music continues to be performed to critical acclaim throughout the world. Written by a team of international scholars, this Companion provides a wide ranging and accessible study of Tippett and his works. It discusses the contexts and concepts of modernism, tradition, politics, sexuality and creativity that shaped Tippett's music and ideas, engaging with archive materials, relevant literature and models of interpretation. Chapters explore the genres in which Tippett composed, including opera, symphony, string quartet, concerto and piano sonata, to shed new light on his major works and draw attention to those that have not yet received the attention they deserve. Directing knowledge and expertise towards a wide readership, this book will enrich the listening experience and broaden understanding of the music of this endlessly fascinating and challenging composer.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- List of musical examples -- Acknowledgments -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Pre-conditions -- 3 Creative cycles -- 4 Transformation-notation -- 5 Archetypes -- 6 Dreamscapes -- 7 From concept to composition -- 8 First movement: compositional peregrinations -- 9 Interlude -- 10 Second movement -- Bibliography -- Index

Thomas Schuttenhelm's book presents an investigation into Michael Tippett's creative process and a comprehensive critical commentary on his orchestral music.

Although it is impossible to trace any one particular theme running through the operas of Michael Tippett, the libretti of his four operas are fascinating to compare. The dense allusions of The Midsummer Marriage (1955), here annotated, gave way to the classical formality of King Priam (1962); the psychoanalytical preoccupations of The Knot Garden (1970) hardly foreshadow the contemporary political commentary of The Ice Break (1977). Each work breaks new ground and provokes unexpected responses. The libretti offer unique introductions to the music, and throw a searching light on the direction of British theatre since 1945.Contents: Operas contained in this volume: The Midsummer Marriage, King Priam, The Knot Garden, The Ice Break; Introduction, Meirion Bowen; A Ritual of Renewal, Paul Driver; 'A Visionary Night', John Lloyd Davies; Music for an Epic, Andrew Clements; A Tempest of Our Time, Meirion Bowen; Stereotypes and Rebirth, Leslie East

This Companion provides a wide ranging and accessible study of one of the most individual composers of the twentieth century. A team of international scholars shed new light on Tippett's major works and draw attention to those that have not yet received the attention they deserve.

Throughout his life, which spanned the greater part of the twentieth century (1905-1998), Sir Michael Tippett was a prolific letter-writer. He wrote to a vast number of people over the years, including family, friends and lovers, colleagues in the music world, journalists, poets, dramatists and politicians. Published to coincide with the centenary of Tippett's birth, these carefully selected letters provide us with a first hand account of the composer's private and professional experiences, revealing a uniquely personal view which until now has remained largely unknown to the public. Bearing witness to the atrocities and advancements of the twentieth century, these letters display a fiercely creative mind struggling to construct a universal artistic expression. His correspondence places the reader at the composer's side, within the historical moment, as a witness to the creative process. Writing open, uninhibited letters became common practice for Tippett, his candid tone lending itself to tackling a wide range of personal and social issues. From the bombing of his cottage in Oxted, to the ecstatic experience of artistic breakthrough that led to progress on a new composition, each new event and accomplishment is documented with clarity and urgency.