And it appeared from subsequent playback that a rogue flute had entered a bar early & triggered all the winds to do likewise. The horns had the wind cued into their parts so they, too, entered early. Boult bravely took the initial blame.
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Things tumbled on & Tippett later refused to conduct the orchestra in the same piece at the 1958 Proms. Boult stepped in & Tippett was only allowed in rehrsls if he stayed 40 feet from the podium! Here is that world premiere perf https://youtu.be/EPHCTbd5a_Y?si=plEcF1c5EqdJ0Wc7
All this aside though, it’s undoubtedly one of Tippett’s masterpieces & a bona fide 20th C classic. Thankfully, Tippett himself recorded it with BBCSO at the age of 90 (along with the 4th), so there was a happy ending of sorts!
There are several other recordings aside from Tippett’s own including LSO/Davis (1968); Bournemouth SO/Hickox (1994); BBCSSO/Brabbins (2018) & LPO/Gardner (2024). And even that premiere perf can now be obtained online. @londonsymphony.bsky.social @lporchestra.bsky.social
The remarkable thing, listening to it, is that it had not yet broken down when Boult stopped it and immediately addressed the audience. His decisiveness is quite something. He obviously decided that it should be corrected rather than fumbled. But what if the error had occurred later in the movement?
Hmmm. When I played it in a non-professional orchestra about 20 years ago, it was 94-98, and doesn’t sound sluggish. Tippett’s recording is 85-90 and sounds lethargic. Solti, 92-95. So the marking of 116 is simply wrong. The pressure on Boult arising from that mistake was huge.
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https://youtu.be/EPHCTbd5a_Y?feature=shared