Death of an English composer, 85
mainThe death is reported of the Liverpool composer Malcolm Lipkin.
Shocked by the loss of his teacher, Matyas Seiber, in a 1960 car accident, Lipkin lost some of his early momentum and settled into a personal byway of the English pastoral style.
He wrote three symphonies and received several BBC commissions.
Malcolm Lipkin was one of the most gentle of musical giants, and I feel privileged to have received from him the gift of ‘Invocation for Double Bass and Piano’, written especially for me and my duo partner Sung-Suk Kang.
Invocation is a powerful piece of music and I have performed it in the UK, the USA and Europe. Illness regrettably prevented Malcolm from travelling recently, and it is a pity that he was never able to hear the composition he dedicated to us. My plan to include it on a CD recording of works by British composers has unfortunately also sadly not been realised in time.
Malcolm Lipkin’s music deserves to be more widely heard and performed, and it is gratifying to know that his instrumental music in particular is receiving renewed attention, especially from friends and colleagues in the United Kingdom.
I am sure that in a few years time Lipkin will become more widely known and appreciated. How sad that some composers, like Gerald Finzi, father of Malcolm’s friend Christopher, do not become mainstream till after they have died. He was indeed a gentle person, too shy to push his work more forcefully.