January 2022 Composer of the Month – Michael Tippett

California Conservatory of Music is continuing to celebrate Composer of the Month this month by honoring Michael Tippett, a prolific British composer, a humanitarian, and a pacifist. Did you know that the gamut of his work comprises four symphonies, five operas, and five-string quartets? He also wrote numerous songs, four piano sonatas, and amazing orchestral works, such as the Triple Concerto and several works for voices, which is fascinating.

Michael Tippett’s Personal Life

Sir Michael Tippett was born in 1905 in London and spent his childhood mainly in Suffolk. Tippett’s father had retired and had purchased a hotel in France. Tippett went to school in Edinburgh at the age of 13, but he didn’t like it there. This is why he attended the local Stamford Grammar School located in Lincolnshire.

It is worth noting that Tippett studied music at the Royal School of Music. Disillusioned and disenchanted by the harsh realities of the First World War, Tippett turned to socialism and then pacifism.

He was a conscientious objector in World War II and was briefly imprisoned in 1943. Did you know that Tippett rose to prominence during and after the Second World War? At that time, he was the Director of Music at Morley College.

Also, Tippett was a communist during the 1930s. Keep in mind that Tippett’s music and style were initially conservative. However, he soon developed a unique and strongly personal idiom, primarily based on long lyrical phrases and complex rhythms.

Life as a Composer

A music composer underrated in his earlier years, Michael Tippett seemed in the shadow of Ben Britten. Did you know that Tippett developed rather slowly as a music composer? Tippett’s early music was conservative; however, note that in the late 1930s, he created a personal and modernistic idiom that was uniquely marked by intricate counterpoint, rhapsodic lyricism, and polyphonic rhythms.

From 1928, he lived in Oxted, Surrey, and taught French in a prep school. He also conducted a concert and operatic society, enabling him to spend long periods of time at composition. Beethoven was an important inspiration for Tippett. And one of his best and most notable works is the Concerto for Double String Orchestra. Note that it shows his love and passion for folk music and interest in English music of the Renaissance era.

You should know that Tippett’s operas include The Knot Garden, A Midsummer Marriage, King Priam, and The Ice Break. He also wrote several choral works. This is why students taking music lessons at the California Conservatory of Music are inspired by his work. And if you are considering taking guitar lessons, you should be familiar with his work.

Tippett’s last and famous orchestral work, The Rose Lake, was also premiered by the notable London Symphony Orchestra as part of a 2-week long festival celebrating his ninetieth birthday at the Barbican Centre in London.

And during a 2-month tour of Canada and the US, Tippett also heard this greatly acclaimed and influential work performed 11 times. To this day, his compositions are an essential part of Redwood City Music Lessons.

In 1966, Tippett was knighted and received the Order of Merit in 1983. Tippett remained active composing as well as conducting. You will be happy to know that in 1979, Michael Tippett also established The Michael Tippett Musical Foundation.

Tippett died in early 1998. Many composers, such as Mark-Anthony Turnage, William Mathias, David Matthews, and Edward Cowie, have admitted his influence on their work.

Some Notable Facts

• Michael Tippett is one of the greatest, most original, and influential composers of the 20th century.
• Michael Tippett and his brother learned to speak fluent French when they were quite young.
• The only formal musical training he received as a child was his piano lessons.
• Tippett received several honors and awards. He was also made a CBE in 1959 and was knighted in 1966. He became a Companion of Honor in 1979.

If you are looking for violin, guitar or piano lessons, Sunnyvale music lessons and Redwood City Music Lessons can provide developmentally appropriate music education for young children, introducing various concepts such as body movement, rhythm, and singing to preschoolers and toddlers.

In 1995, following Tippett’s autobiography, Those Twentieth Century Blues, his notable and definitive collection of essays was published. He also wrote an idiosyncratic contribution to the Purcell tercentenary celebrations, known as the Caliban’s Song, for the BBC.