Michael Tippett's compositional process is revealed through a discussion of the writing of his Symphony No. 3. Tippett perceives four distinct stages in this process: conception, where ideas are often inspired by other music or sounds; gestation, a period of mental development of the piece; development of form, both large and small, at which time some actual composing may begin; and the final stage, which is the writing of the score. In his Third Symphony, Tippett takes the idea of a vocal finale from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and includes three quotations from Beethoven's final movement. The finale of Tippett's symphony is related in subject matter to Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde, and the musical style is based loosely on the blues as sung by Bessie Smith in St. Louis Blues with Louis Armstrong.

Works: Tippett: Symphony No. 3.

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Paula Ring Zerkle