Rotations, Wedges, and Organic Prototypes: Analytical Perspectives on the Evolution of Robert Simpson's Symphonism

The focus of my research has been on developing a bespoke analytical framework, based on Simpson's five symphonic principles (Simpson (ed.), 1967), with which to provide a comprehensive and wide reaching analysis of his first symphony (1951) and his largest symphonic work, the 10th Symphony (1988). The five principles, from much earlier in Simpson's career, are an attempt to define the essence of a 'true symphony'. While they are/were controversial in their attempt to prescribe symphonic value on existing symphonic works, as an insight into Simpson's thinking on symphonism, they can be an evocative tool in the analysis and understanding of his own symphonies. In my development of an analytical framework based on these principles, the most significant elements of my analysis involves: rotational form, organic prototype theory (Montgomery, 1992), structural rhythm (Phillippo, 2000), formal theory, and interval wedge analysis. It also draws on biological and evolutionary theory, notably the concept of the Omega Point by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.

My project presents a comprehensive and wide reaching analysis of Robert Simpson's 1st and 10th Symphonies.