Michael Tippett; Benjamin Britten; William Walton - Piano Concertos (Clare Hammond)

Information

Composer: Michael Tippett; Benjamin Britten; William Walton

• Walton - Sinfonia Concertante
• Britten - Diversions, Op. 21
• Tippett - Piano Concerto

Clare Hammond, piano

BBC Symphony Orchestra

George Vass, conductor

Date: 2025

Label: BIS

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This programme features three major mid-20th-century English piano concertos that move away from the traditional virtuosic soloist-versus-orchestra model. Clare Hammond, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under George Vass, presents William Walton’s Sinfonia Concertante, originally a ballet score, revealing influences from Stravinsky, Poulenc, and Elgar; Benjamin Britten’s Diversions, a variation work for left-hand pianist Paul Wittgenstein, which embraces the challenge of one-handed performance with emotion and grandeur; and Michael Tippett’s Piano Concerto, inspired by Beethoven, where the piano and orchestra share poetic dialogue and reciprocal solo moments, highlighting collaborative interplay over bravura display.

British pianist Clare Hammond (b. 1985) studied at Cambridge University, the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and City University London, earning a doctorate on 20th-century left-hand piano concertos. Renowned for her commitment to contemporary music, she has premiered over fifty works and recorded more than twenty world premieres. Recent highlights include debuts at the BBC Proms, Konzerthaus Berlin, and Salle Bourgie, with performances alongside major UK orchestras. Her acclaimed BIS recordings feature music by Hélène de Montgeroult, Unsuk Chin, Kapustin, and Edmund Finnis. In 2025, she debuts at the Royal Albert Hall and records French repertoire for BIS.

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