Search - Michael Tippett, Richard Hickox, Bournemouth Sinfonietta :: Tippett: Symphony No. 2; Suite from New Year

Tippett's Second Symphony had a famously disastrous premier under Sir Adrian Boult, who allowed his jerk of a concertmaster to re-bow all of the string parts--with the result that orchestra collapsed into rhythmic chaos. Though difficult to play, the music holds no terrors now, and it's a splendidly vital score, the opening suggestive of Vivaldi and sounding in places like Copland. The slow movement has a truly magical aura, while the scherzo and finale bring to mind the Stravinsky of the Symphony in Three Movements. New Year is Tippet's last opera--the plot concerns aliens visiting an urban slum--and the music is correspondingly wild. These excellent performances provide a fine overview of Tippett's range as a composer. --David Hurwitz