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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 explores the complicated and poignant relationships Tippett had with two women: his cousin, the firebrand socialist Phyllis Kemp, and Francesca Allinson, poet, writer, and fifth child of the famous flour family.

Purcell arr. Tippett: If music be the food of love 
Martyn Hill, tenor
Andrew Ball, piano

Tippett: Piano Sonata No 1, 1st movement: Allegro
Paul Crossley, piano

Tippett: Suite in D for the Birthday of Prince Charles: 3 – Procession and Dance, 4 – Carol, 5 - Finale
London Symphony Orchestra
Sir Colin Davis

Tippett: String Quartet No 2: Andante
Heath Quartet

Tippett: The Heart’s Assurance
Martyn Hill, tenor
Andrew Ball, piano