Keith Tippett died on June 14, 2020, and every so often something comes along to remind us of this remarkable artist. Not nearly often enough, according to his admirers, and it is hard to disagree: such a long and multifaceted career has never received the attention it deserved, and his talent was never fully recognized as it should have been. In May 2026 came an “authorized biography,” Mujician, written by his friend Martin Phillips, with a foreword by the venerable Richard Williams and accompanied by a double CD illustrating two essential facets of Tippett’s vast musical universe: a solo recital recorded at a pub in Exeter in March 1984, and a live orchestral performance at London’s 100 Club in May 1976 with one of his best-known ensembles, The Ark. In his introduction, Phillips goes to great lengths to apologize for not having written a biography according to traditional conventions, choosing […]
