Home listening - an early Tippett rarity, and top-notch Mendelssohn

The Guardian 0

An unpublished 1934 symphony by Michael Tippett is performed for the first time in more than 80 years

• Here’s a remarkable resurrection. Michael Tippett’s growth into one of the great 20th-century British composers was pretty slow: he struggled to master composing technique, and it was not until A Child of Our Time (1944) that he really made his mark. Since his death in 1998, Tippett’s stock has perhaps faded, but he left four highly individual symphonies: the first a web of dense counterpoint, the second a blast of Vivaldian energy, the third a Beethovenian assertion, and the fourth a life-to-death odyssey.

Now an early unpublished symphony from 1934 has emerged (it was performed, but Tippett revised it, then withdrew it), and it was revived by Martyn Brabbins and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra on Radio 3 earlier this month (available on iPlayer Radio for another six days). It’s a touching, eclectic, slightly chaotic but wonderfully expressive half-hour essay that breathes the spirit of authentic Tippett. It is thought that he found it too like the Sibelius he wanted to grow beyond, but I heard it rather differently. The swirling thirds for violins and wind, mistily evaporating and rekindling, the yearning melodies and soft-edged textures, all sound like a passionate reinvention of the English pastoral tradition that was part of Tippett’s background. Perhaps he wanted to escape that too, yet the piece (beautifully performed) is totally individual and well worth hearing. A recording is promised for later in the year, but catch it while you can.