Oliver Knussen's reputation as a master of the large orchestra was cemented by his Third Symphony. Composed in 1979 when Knussen was just 27 and the result of six years working, thinking, revising, and refining, this 15-minute tour de force traverses a massive musical and emotional spectrum. Inspired by the trauma, madness and drowning of Shakespeare's Ophelia, this indisputable modern classic displays a kaleidoscopic brilliance, from the careering clarinet melodies and raucous Perotin-inspired trombone interjections of its first part to the unnerving submerged horn sonorities towards its close.
‚The music's surfaces move with a captivating shimmer and dazzle...'
The Guardian Online (Tom Service)