ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a detailed account of the events leading up to and throughout the compositional process associated with Michael Tippett's Fifth String Quartet and a comprehensive analysis of the entire quartet. Tippett's Fifth String Quartet is a strikingly translucent work. It is filled with spectral resonances that are constructed from fragile webs of heterophony and infused with inter-opus allusions that shimmer within a conceptual framework. The Lindsay String Quartet is a common link between Tippett's Fourth and Fifth Quartets. Together with his amanuensis, Michael Tillett; his companion, Meirion Bowen; and the staff from both the Tippett Office and his publisher, Schott, most especially, Sally Groves—the dedicatee of the quartet, the Lindsay String Quartet served as the essential support network that enabled the composer to persevere and flourish at precisely this period of his creative development. The Fifth Quartet is exceptional in Tippett's oeuvre because it was one of the few pieces that demanded further revision to complete.
