Nathan Williamson, the pianist on this album, performs as a soloist and chamber musician, composes new works, and directs performance and education projects.
Composition History
Piano Sonata No.6, subtitled 'Fantasy Sonata', was commissioned by actor brothers David and Clive Swift to mark Lipkin's 70th birthday.
Composer Biography
Malcolm Lipkin belonged to a generation of British composers who gained prominence between the mid-1950s and mid-1960s, initially exploring progressive techniques before forging their own relationship with tonality.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Lipkin's compositional style evolved from long, lyrical lines and motor-rhythms to tiny motifs and rhythmic cells in a more dissonant style, while maintaining skill at building convincing structures from flexible material.
Compositional Technique
The Nocturnes, though concise, achieve profundity and expansiveness, often having the resonance of much longer pieces, and demonstrate Lipkin's appetite for experimentation and freshness of approach.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Lipkin's Nocturnes, predominantly hushed and inward-looking, are described as music of the night, probing elements of the subconscious and playing with appearance and reality, light and dark.
Composition History
Lipkin's Piano Sonata No.5 was commissioned by Jeremy Carter, a winner of the 1985 South East Arts Young Musicians' Platform Award, and is dedicated to the memory of Gordon Green, Lipkin's childhood piano teacher.
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