The latest in John Bridcut’s collection of award-winning films about British composers features the life and music of Sir Michael Tippett, who died 25 years ago in 1998.

For many years, Tippett dominated the contemporary classical music scene in the UK. His life spanned almost the whole of the 20th century, and embraced many of the social issues of his time, from pacifism to homosexuality. His most popular work, the oratorio A Child of Our Time, made his name in 1944. Provoked by Kristallnacht – the 1938 Nazi-led pogrom against German Jews – it continues to speak powerfully about refugees and persecution.

Corsham cine film provided by John Whitmore, a former member of the Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra, of which Tippett was patron. Show less