The music of Sir Michael Tippett has appeared here on a number of occasions. Over the course of a long life (1905-1998) Tippett's music style evolved quite dramatically. The work here - the Concerto For Double String Orchestra - is an early piece that received its premiere in 1940. It is one of Tippett's most lyrical pieces with a vitality stemming from a rhythmic freedom based partly on madrigal style and Renaissance polyphony.
Setting one orchestra against the other, creating syncopation and antiphonal effects, and the use of modes rather than keys makes the piece almost timeless in the manner of Vaughan Williams Tallis Fantasia. Although the work benefits from stereo recordings where the two string orchestras can be aurally separated, this 1963 mono recording from Russian conductor Rudolf Barshai has intensity and rhythmic impetus that makes up for the lack of stereo separation.
Two orchestras in this recording are comprised of two different ensembles - Yehudi Menuhin's Bath Festival Chamber Orchestra and Rudolf Barshai's Moscow Chamber Orchestra, an ensemble he founded in 1956 and which appeared at the 1962 Bath Festival - the year before this recording was released.
Cartridge: audio-technica AT33M MC
Phono amp: Graham Slee Accession MC
Turntable: CTC Classic 301 with SME M2-12R
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