Christopher and David

Michael Tippett was a particularly absorbent composer, soaking up an incredibly wide range of inspirations and influences from the world around him, and perhaps most often from outside the field of music. His huge intellectual capacity and endless interest in other people combined with immense charisma to make him a personality to which everyone who met him seemed irresistibly drawn. His - often complex - relationships were particularly intense ones, and frequently blurred the lines between professional and personal, artistic and sexual.

This week Composer of the week looks at some of the people closest to Tippett and asks what influence they had on the life and music of a man whose story has still never been fully told. Joining Donald Macleod to explore sometimes uncharted territory is Oliver Soden, the author of a new - and the first complete - biography of the composer.

Today, Donald Macleod looks at Tippett's lifelong friendships with the poet and playwright Christopher Fry and the journalist and writer David Ayerst.

Tippett: Dance, Clarion Air
Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford
Medici String Quartet
Stephen Darlington, Director

Tippett: Piano Concerto – 1: Allegro non troppo
Benjamin Frith, Piano
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
George Hurst, conductor

Tippett: Crown of the Year – Prelude (Autumn); Victoria rules an autumn land
Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford
Medici String Quartet
Stephen Darlington, Director

Tippett: The Blue Guitar – 3: Dreaming
Craig Ogden, guitar

Tippett: The Rose Lake
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Richard Hickox, conductor