Malcolm Lipkin Recordings

Malcolm Lipkin (1932-2017) was an English composer who came to prominence in the 1950s and continued writing over many decades. His works include three symphonies and a significant body of orchestral, chamber and solo instrumental music. Partly shaped by the Hungarian-British composer, Mátyás Seiber, with whom he studied in the 1950s, Lipkin’s style is characterised by a very distinctive tonality and precision of expression. He was also strongly influenced by history, literature and religion, drawing inspiration from a wide range of sources. Some of this is evident in two works featured on this album, Naboth’s Vineyard and Clifford’s Tower, and was particularly clear in his symphonies, which included references as diverse as the metaphysical poet Andrew Marvell and the traffic in the city of Rome. A constant feature in his work, particularly evident later in his career, was an intense concern for humanity, expressed often in intimacy but sometimes in despair.

Until recently, recordings of Lipkin’s work have been comparatively rare, reflecting a long struggle for wider recognition. Paul Conway captured the views of a number of observers of English music when he observed that: “He followed his own path steadily and regardless of passing trends to create a rewarding body of work of impeccable integrity which largely awaits rediscovery.”