Tippett: Triple concerto

[Pulcinella]

MT55: Triple Concerto for violin, viola, and cello
Date: 1978–9 [30 November 1979]
1st Performance: György Pauk, Nobuko Imai, Ralph Kirshbaum, London Symphony Orchestra, cond. Colin Davis; Royal Albert Hall, London, 22 August 1980
(from Schott's List of works)

Prompted by the recent death of Gyorgy Pauk, the violinist in the premiere, I thought I'd start a thread on this fascinating work.
There are not yet enough recordings to do a real Building a Library (and any Tippettophile will want/have them all anyway), but I wonder if others have a particular favourite, or, like me, you find each one revealing in its own way.
The recent LPO release of the Piano concerto has proven yet again how each performance of a work by Tippett can have something special and unique about it.

These are the recordings I have (I think all that have been released), given in order of recording year.

1981: Gyorgy Pauk, Nobuko Imai, Ralph Kirshbaum/LSO/Colin Davis (Philips, then Decca, now Presto)
1985: Ernst Kovacic, Rivka Golani, Karine Georgian/London Sinfonietta/David Atherton (BBC Radio Classics/Carlton)
1990: Ernst Kovacic, Gerard Caussé, Alexander Baillie/BBCPO/Michael Tippett (Nimbus)
1995: Levon Chilingirian, Simon Rowland-Jones, Philip de Groote/Bournemouth SO/Richard Hickox (Chandos)
2007: Daniel Hope, Philip Dukes, Christian Poltéra/BBCSO/Andrew Davis (DG)

The 2007 Proms performance is on YouTube here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqXFVi3G_to

[silvestrione]

I was at that first performance, and a talk Tippett gave before hand in a big hall at the RCM. Very astute and thoughtful he was: this was well before he got into a rather garrulous old age.

I love the piece. It was a wonderful gift-like return to lyricism ('it is time to return to lyricism again', he explained), with three soloists! I love the gamelan-music in the last movement in particular, and the way the opening returns. The extraordinary harmonising of the woodwind passage in the first movement! I could go on.

I didn't know about the last of those recordings, on DG.

[Pulcinella]

I was at that first performance, and a talk Tippett gave before hand in a big hall at the RCM. Very astute and thoughtful he was: this was well before he got into a rather garrulous old age.

I love the piece. It was a wonderful gift-like return to lyricism ('it is time to return to lyricism again', he explained), with three soloists! I love the gamelan-music in the last movement in particular, and the way the opening returns. The extraordinary harmonising of the woodwind passage in the first movement! I could go on.

I didn't know about the last of those recordings, on DG.

Not sure how I chanced upon it!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Best-British-2007-BBC-Proms/dp/B000WC2UQS/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.QQzHR7zjoUH9NQgDd-V4Uw.JFfs336hTxAV6bRKsmACvDjHWzI6gbVboCHB80FB-DA&dib_tag=se&keywords=Best+of+british+proms+2007&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1733761502&sr=8-1

[Barbirollians]

I only have the original Davis recording and cannot imagine it being bettered.

[silvestrione]

Not sure how I chanced upon it!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Best-Britis...3761502&sr=8-1

Oops, yes, I DO have that! Will have a listen later.

[pastoralguy]

I remember seeing the Premiere on television as a 17 year old and being perplexed by the sheer strangeness of it! (My only experience of ‘modern music’ was Le Sacre, which I loved and the occasional new work played by the SNO on a Friday nite. Birtwhistle’s Melencolia 1 played by Alan Hacker terrified the bejesus out of me but I grew to like if not love it!)

Obviously, I’ve heard the Triple Concerto many times since, although never live, and still find it rather perplexing.

[Pulcinella]

I remember seeing the Premiere on television as a 17 year old and being perplexed by the sheer strangeness of it! (My only experience of ‘modern music’ was Le Sacre, which I loved and the occasional new work played by the SNO on a Friday nite. Birtwhistle’s Melencolia 1 played by Alan Hacker terrified the bejesus out of me but I grew to like if not love it!)

Obviously, I’ve heard the Triple Concerto many times since, although never live, and still find it rather perplexing.

I wouldn't have seen or heard the premiere, as I was in Canada at the time, but I remember being absolutely amazed at the writing when I finally got a copy of the score, and I'd recommend it to you to perhaps help you be less perplexed! I hadn't realised how often the cello was playing above the violin, for instance.

[Petrushka]

I love the Triple Concerto and remember listening to the 1980 premiere on R3. The slow movement main melody has an uncanny ability to bring back those days.

The Colin Davis recording is the only one I have.

[smittims]

I'm pleasantly surprised to see there have been so many recordings, but then , it is a particularly sunny and attractive work. Odd that hardly anyone else thought of writing a concerto for that combination.