Malcolm Leyland Lipkin became one of the most notable British post-war composers, a status achieved despite the handicap of his having lived next door but one to Jimmy Tarbuck.
Lipkin was born on 2nd May 1932 to Reuben and Evelyn (née Urding) who lived at 78 Queens Drive, Allerton L18. Both sides of his family had their origins in Russia. On the Lipkin side, his Russian-born grandfather Emanuel was a rabbi, living at 110 Shaw Street at the start of the 20th century. His Urding grandfather, Ephraim, was also born in Russia, living at 17 Wavertree Road. His father Reuben had a chemist’s shop at 5 Rialto Buildings in Upper Parliament Street (although in the 1939 register he is listed as a ‘medical practitioner’). His father Reuben died in 1944 aged just 43.
Having attended the Liverpool College, in 1949 he won a
scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London, where he continued his
piano studies. By the age of 18 he had written three piano sonatas and the
third received a favourable review in The Times following a performance
in London in 1952. In 1966 the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society
commissioned his first symphony, the Sinfonia di Roma. He wrote two further
symphonies and a large body of chamber and other orchestral music. His 1977
work, Clifford’s Tower, drew its inspiration from the brutal murder of
York’s Jewish community in the twelfth century.
The Tarbuck family lived at 74.
There are a number of biographies around on the internet(malcolmlipkin.org. musicweb-international ). The Wikipedia entry provides basic information.
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