Tippett’s four Piano Sonatas span a period of nearly fifty years and crystalize important facets of his musical development. Indeed, listeners might be forgiven for thinking his first three sonatas were written by three different composers, so different are their style and musical exploration. The neo-classical Sonata No. 1 is, in Tippett’s own words, ‘a young man’s work, with all the exuberance of discovery and creation which that commonly implies’. Sonata No. 2 was written immediately after Tippett’s second opera King Priam and is similarly austere and angular. In contrast Sonata No. 3 concentrates on the sonorous capabilities of the instrument, opening up new vistas of harmony and colour.