'Prayer Bell Sketch' was commissioned by Ms. Masako Okamura and Mr. Motoyuki Nakagawa in memory of Toru Takemitsu. Here is the 'prayer Bell Sketch' for the solo piano.
The study score for Knussen's Violin Concerto Op.30 composed in 2002 by commission from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The piece was first performed by Pinchas Zukerman with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra at Heinz Hall Pi…
Higglety Pigglety Pop! is the second of Knussen’s two extraordinary fantasy operas created in collaboration with the acclaimed author Maurice Sendak. Composed between 1984-5 but finding its final form after a number of substant…
Paul Griffiths says 'The piece is full of clever and beautiful things; the early scenes proceed almost in convulsions of orchestral brilliance within a marvellously clear and animated world whose chief references sometimes explic…
'A tightly constructed work inspired by Shakespeare's description of Ophelia's madness it blends wind string and keyboard timbres superbly and moves easily between sprightliness and dreamy introspection.'Allan Kozinn The New Yo…
In his Financial Times review Max Loppert says '. . .the title aptly reflects both the songful character of the musical invention and the relationship of wind solo to string trio. . .a composition of great charm and precise charac…
'. . .a sumptuous piece clotted with color dense with incident yet also transparent in its deisgn: it lets you know where you are.'Richard Dyer Boston Globe 7 August 1991
'Knussens wastes not a note and though the work lasts only for seven minutes its density of thought suggests something of sonata structure.'Paul Griffiths Musical Times January 1981
This enchanting 8-minute piece for violin and piano – Oliver Knussen’s penultimate work – is made up of various kinds of musical reflection: melody reflected in its inversion; a six-note mode reflected in its com…
Mostly inhabiting a hushed pianissimo the free floating melismas and luminous harmonies of this work for two antiphonal choirs of female voices explore one word: ‘chiara’ (‘clear’ in Italian) and its equiv…
For Soprano and Orchestra. Andrew Clements says 'None of the four songs lasts more than a few minutes yet they pack in an astonishing range of emotional and vocal nuance. . .with wonderfully lucid colours drawn from a vast ensemb…
Edward Greenfield says 'Taking the word Hum literally Knussen has subjected A.A.Milne to some lighthearted but intense expressionist treatment even developing a series of aphorisms which present such incidents as Piglet meeting …
'. . .creates a shimmering tapestry of sound that ranges satisfyingly wide within a brief-span - a fine display piece for conductor and every section of the orchestra.'The Guardian 17 September 1988
'. . .fresh as paint in its firing of a melodic line that just goes on in a kind of angular strain shuttled from one instrumental colouring to another.'Paul Griffiths The Times 12 February 1991
'. . .a stunning palette of orchestral colour which transforms the 16th-century material without abusing its essential character.'Michael John White The Independent 1 April 1988
