Michael Tippett (1905-1998)
Ritual Dances from The Midsummer Marriage
Piano Concerto

Michael Tippett was born in London on 2nd January, 1905, the second son of Henry William Tippett (a retired lawyer) and Isabel Clementina Binny Kemp, Tippett's father was of Cornish origin, his mother from Kent. He studied for his BMus degree at the Royal College of Music between 1923 and 1928, composition with Charles Wood and C. H. Kitson, piano with Aubin Raymar and conducting with Malcolm Sargent and Adrian Boult.

His creative maturity came relatively late (he destroyed all of his early works), with his first acknowledged works being the String Quartet No.1 (1934-35, revised 1943) and Piano Sonata No.1(1936 - 37), this after a further period of study at the Royal College of Music under R.O. Morris. It was not until the premiere of his oratorio A Child of Our Time (1939-41) on 19th March, 1944, that Tippett's name be