Oliver Knussen
(1952-06-12)12 June 1952
Glasgow, Scotland
8 July 2018(2018-07-08) (aged 66)
Snape, Suffolk, England
Classical, chamber, orchestral
Composer, conductor
Early life[edit]
Oliver Knussen was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father, Stuart Knussen, was principal double bass of the London Symphony Orchestra, and also participated in a number of premieres of Benjamin Britten's music.[1] Oliver Knussen studied composition with John Lambert between 1963 and 1969, and also received encouragement from Britten. He spent several summers studying with Gunther Schuller at Tanglewood in Massachusetts and in Boston.[2]
Personal life[edit]
Knussen was married to Sue Knussen, a US-born producer and director of music programmes for BBC television and for the UK's Channel 4 – for which she made Leaving Home, an introduction to 20th-century music presented by Simon Rattle in a series of seven one-hour programmes, which won the 1996 BAFTA award for "Best Arts Series".[10] She ran the Los Angeles Philharmonic's education department in the late 1990s. Oliver and Sue Knussen had a daughter, Sonya Knussen, who is a mezzo-soprano. Sue Knussen died of a blood infection in London in 2003. The Sue Knussen Composers Fund (previously, the Sue Knussen Commissioning Fund) "honours her memory and professional legacy...and...commissions works from emerging composers to be performed by contemporary music ensembles worldwide."[11]
Knussen lived in Snape, Suffolk, Benjamin Britten's base during one of his most creative periods.[12] Snape Maltings concert hall is the home of the Aldeburgh Festival.
Knussen died on 8 July 2018, aged 66.[13][14]
Symphony No. 1, Op. 1 (1967–68), for orchestra (withdrawn)
Processionals, Op. 2 (1968/78), for chamber ensemble
Masks, Op. 3 (1969), for solo flute and glass chimes 'ad lib'
Concerto for Orchestra (1969)
Symphony in One Movement, Op. 5 (1969/2002), for orchestra – a revised version of the Concerto for Orchestra
Hums and Songs of Winnie-the-Pooh, Op. 6 (1970/83), for soprano solo, flute, cor anglais, clarinet, percussion and cello
Three Little Fantasies, Op. 6a (1970/83), for wind quintet
Symphony No. 2, Op. 7 (1970–71), for high soprano and chamber orchestra [winner: Margaret Grant Prize, Tanglewood]
Choral, Op. 8 (1970–72), for wind, percussion and double basses
Turba, (1971/76), for double bass solo
Rosary Songs, Op. 9 (1972), for soprano solo, clarinet, piano and viola
Océan de Terre, Op. 10 (1972–73/76), for soprano and chamber ensemble
Study for Metamorphosis (1972, rev. 2018), for bassoon solo
Music for a Puppet Court (after John Lloyd), Op. 11 (1973/83), "puzzle pieces" for two chamber orchestras
Trumpets, Op. 12 (1975), for soprano and three clarinets
Ophelia Dances Book 1, Op. 13 (1975), for flute, cor anglais, clarinet, horn, piano, celesta and string trio [Koussevitzky centennial commission]
Autumnal, Op. 14 (1976–77), for violin and piano
Cantata Op. 15 (1977), for oboe and string trio
Sonya's Lullaby Op. 16 (1978–79), for piano solo
Scriabin Settings (1978)
Coursing, Op. 17 (1979), for large chamber ensemble
Symphony No. 3, Op. 18 (1973–79), for orchestra
Frammenti da Chiara, Op.19a (1975/86), for two antiphonal 'a cappella' female choirs
Songs and a Sea Interlude, Op. 20a (1979–81), for soprano and orchestra
The Wild Rumpus, Op. 20b (1983), for orchestra
Higglety Pigglety Pop!, Op. 21 (1984–85, revised 1999), fantasy opera, libretto by
Maurice Sendak
Fanfares for Tanglewood (1986), for thirteen brass and three groups of percussion
The Way to Castle Yonder, Op. 21a (1988–90), for orchestra
Flourish with Fireworks, Op. 22 (1988 revised 1993), for orchestra
Four Late Poems and an Epigram of , Op. 23 (1988), soprano solo
Rilke
Variations, Op. 24 (1989), for piano solo
Secret Psalm (1990), for violin solo
Settings, Op. 25 (1991/92) for soprano and piano; Op. 25a (1992) version for soprano and orchestra
Whitman
Songs without Voices, Op. 26 (1991–92), for flute, cor anglais, clarinet, horn, piano and string trio
Elegiac Arabesques (in memory of ), Op. 26a (1991), for cor anglais and clarinet
Andrzej Panufnik
Two Organa, Op. 27 (1994), for large chamber ensemble
Horn Concerto, Op. 28 (1994), for horn solo and orchestra
"...upon one note" (fantasia after Purcell) (1995), for clarinet, piano and string trio
Prayer Bell Sketch (in memory of ), Op. 29 (1997), for piano solo
Tōru Takemitsu
Eccentric Melody (for 's 90th birthday) (1998), for cello solo
Elliott Carter
Violin Concerto, Op. 30 (2002), for violin solo and orchestra
Cleveland Pictures Op. 31. First performed at on Friday 2022-06-24 by the BBC Symphony Orchestra
Snape Maltings
Ophelia's Last Dance, Ophelia Dances Book 2, Op. 32 (2004/2009–10), for piano solo
Requiem: Songs for Sue, Op. 33 (2005–6), for soprano and chamber ensemble
Reflection, Op. 31a (2016) for violin and piano
O Hototogisu! (fragment of a Japonisme), for soprano, flute and large ensemble (2017)
Knussen – Where the Wild Things Are, London Sinfonietta, Arabasque Records (1985)
– The Prince of the Pagodas, London Sinfinietta, Virgin Classics (1990)
Benjamin Britten
– Chamber Works, London Sinfonietta, Unicorn-Kanchana (1991)
Alexander Goehr
Carter – Orchestral Works, London Sinfonietta, Virgin Classics (1992)
Goehr – Sing, Ariel, The Mouse Metamorphosed into A Maid, Lucy Shelton, Eileen Hulse, Sarah Leonard, Instrumental Ensemble, Unicorn-Kanchana (1992)
Ruders – Chamber Works, Capricorn, Bridge Records (1992)
– Chamber Works, London Sinfonietta, NMC (1993)
Harrison Birtwistle
– Grohg, etc., The Cleveland Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Argo Records (1994)
Aaron Copland
– The Flood, etc., Charles Wuorinen – A Reliquary for Igor Stravinsky, London Sinfonietta, Deutsche Grammophon (1995)
Igor Stravinsky
– Broken symmetry, Suns dance, Fourth Sonata, London Sinfonietta, Deutsche Grammophon (1995)
Colin Matthews
Goehr – Piano Concerto, Peter Serkin, London Sinfonietta, NMC (1995)
Knussen – Orchestral, Vocal and Chamber Works, Barry Tuckwell, Lucy Shelton, London Sinfonietta, Deutsche Grammophon (1996)
– Orchestral Works, BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Oliver Knussen, EMI Classics (1997)
Robert Saxton
– Undine, London Sinfonietta, Deutsche Grammophon (1997)
Hans Werner Henze
Stravinsky – The Fairy's Kiss, Faun And Shepherdess, Ode – Lucy Shelton, The Cleveland Orchestra, Deutsche (1997)
– Portrait, Lucy Shelton, Reinbert de Leeuw, New London Chamber Choir, James Wood, Schönberg Ensemble, Deutsche Grammophon (1997)
Ruth Crawford Seeger
– Quotation of Dream, London Sinfonietta, Deutsche Grammophon (1998)
Toru Takemitsu
Carter – Symphonia, Clarinet Concerto, London Sinfonietta, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Deutsche Grammophon (1999)
Takemitsu – Riverrun, Water-ways, Paul Crossley, London Sinfonietta, Virgin Classics Digital (1999)
– Aura, Engine, BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Deutsche Grammophon (2000)
Magnus Lindberg
– Chamber Works, Asko Ensemble, The Cleveland Orchestra, Deutsche Grammophon (2001)
Peter Lieberson
Knussen – Higglety Pigglety Pop! & Where The Wild Things Are, London Sinfonietta, Deutsche Grammophon (2001)
Knussen – Hums And Songs of Winnie-the-Pooh and Other Chamber Works, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, EMI Classics (2002)
orch Leopold Stokowski – Pictures at an Exhibition, Boris Godunov, Khovanschina, Night on a Bare Mountain, The Cleveland Orchestra, Deutsche Grammophon (2004)
Modest Mussorgsky
Carter – Orchestral Works, London Sinfonietta, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Asko Ensemble, Bridge Records (2005)
– Orchestral Works, BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Ondine (2006)
Julian Anderson
Takemitsu – Orchestral Works, London Sinfonietta, Rolf Hind, London Sinfonietta Label (2006)
Knussen – Violin Concerto, Requiem, Songs For Sue, Soloists, BBC Symphony Orchestra, NMC (2012)
Goehr – Marching To Carcassonne, Peter Serkin, BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Naxos Records (2013)
Britten – The Rape of Lucretia, Kirchschlager, Bostridge, Gritton, Purves, Russell, Coleman-Wright, Summers, Booth, Aldeburgh Festival Ensemble, Virgin Classics (2013)
– Caught in Treetops, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, NMC (2014)
Charlotte Bray
Takemitsu – Orchestral Concert (to Mark the 20th Anniversary of his Passing), Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Tower Records (2017)
Carter – Late Works, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Colin Currie, Isabelle Faust, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Ondine (2017)
Anderson – The Comedy of Change, Heaven Is Shy of Earth, , BBC Symphony Chorus, London Sinfonietta, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Ondine (2018)
Susan Bickley
Henze – Heliogabalus Imperator, Works For Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Wergo Records (2019)
(9 July 2018). "An interview with Oliver Knussen". BBC Music Magazine. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
Maddocks, Fiona
CompositionToday – Knussen article, review and interview
Knussen biography at the website of his publisher Faber Music
Birmingham Contemporary Music Group website
Oliver Knussen (1952–2018): Music of New Epiphanies by Michael Schell at Second Inversion
Notes on Symphony No. 3 by Thomas May
17 December 1988 & 13 March 1998