The Orchestral Music of Michael Tippett
Creative Development and the Compositional Process

Thomas Schuttenhelm's book presents an investigation into Michael Tippett's creative process and a comprehensive critical commentary on his orchestral music.

Thomas Schuttenhelm (Author)

9781316639023, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 2 February 2017

340 pages, 12 b/w illus. 51 music examples
24.5 x 17 x 1.8 cm, 0.6 kg

'… Schuttenhelm's reach and narrative is of interest … the chapters on The Rose Lake and other understudied works make the book a worthwhile purchase for the specialist reader …' Oliver Soden, Cercles

With extracts from the composer's letters, writings, interviews and broadcasts, and supported by evidence from his sketchbooks and manuscripts, The Orchestral Music of Michael Tippett explores Tippett's intentions and argues that the experiences that triggered his creative impulses are integral to understanding his music. In his discussion of Tippett's creative process, Thomas Schuttenhelm attempts to recapture the circumstances under which Tippett's orchestral works were created, to document how his visionary aspirations were developed and sustained throughout the creative cycle, and to chart how conception was transmuted from idea through to performance. Analysing Tippett's orchestral works throughout his long career, from the Symphonic Movement of 1931 to his final masterpiece The Rose Lake in 1991–3, Schuttenhelm explores each work in detail to provide a comprehensive commentary on one of the most influential British composers of the twentieth century.

Introduction
1. Symphonic Movement (1930) and the Symphony in B-Flat (1933–4)
2. Concerto for Double String Orchestra (1938–9)
3. Fantasia on a Theme of Handel (1939–41)
4. Symphony No. 1 (1944–5)
5. Little Music (1946)
6. Suite in D (1948)
7. Fantasia Concertante on a Theme of Corelli (1953)
8. Divertimento on 'Sellinger's Round' (1953–4)
9. Piano Concerto (1953–4)
10. Symphony No. 2 (1956–7)
11. Praeludium for Brass, Bells and Percussion (1962)
12. Concerto for Orchestra (1962–3)
13. Symphony No. 3 (1970–2)
14. Symphony No. 4 (1976–7)
15. Triple Concerto (1978–9)
16. The Rose Lake (1991–3).

Subject Areas: Orchestras [AVRB], Individual composers & musicians, specific bands & groups [AVH], 20th century & contemporary classical music [AVGC6]