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. The conceptual dimensions of Tippett's work align him with other conceptual creative artists. In fact, the conceptual dimensions of Tippett's music have their origin in his creative process, and they helped to determine the compositional choices he made throughout it. David Galenson conceived of a creative paradigm for visual artists that can be usefully imported into a musical context in order to understand Tippett's music. Tippett's creative development unfolded under very similar conditions and his most significant achievements resist any attempts to place him within the traditional composer paradigm. Peter Wright was the first scholar to attempt to rescue the Fifth String Quartet from the critics who detected a 'sad decline' in Tippett's abilities by analyzing technical advancements of Tippett's composition in late stages of Tippett's creative development.
