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Oliver Knussen

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Biography

Born: June 12, 1952; Glasgow, Scotland

Oliver Knussen's composing and conducting careers began with early successes, and he has continued to be active in both fields since. His early compositions were influenced by the Russian and American traditions of orchestral writing. A large proportion of these early pieces were also composed with twelve-tone and serial techniques. His later music uses detailed harmonic and rhythmic structures to create complex but clearly defined textures, with Read more fine orchestral color. In all of his work, an accessible sound world is united with highly thought-out structural details.

Knussen was born into a musical family and as a child spent time at London Symphony Orchestra rehearsals, where his father was principal double bass. Oliver was thrown into prominence early in life, when at the age of 15 his First Symphony was performed in London. His precocity as a conductor was demonstrated at the same time when the illness of the scheduled conductor forced Knussen onto the podium. Two weeks later the work was performed in New York under Daniel Barenboim.

Knussen's first composition teacher was John Lambert, a student of Nadia Boulanger, and then from 1970 to 1973 he studied with Gunther Schuller in Tanglewood and Boston. Schuller's influence is evident in the expressionist character of the Second Symphony (1970-1971), which sets verses by the poets Georg Trakl and Sylvia Plath. Other influences in this period appear in the Concerto for Orchestra (1970) that incorporates jazz and the Charleston.

After the spotlight on Knussen receded, rumors abounded that his success was not entirely based on merit, and performances dwindled. He himself felt that early exposure was a mixed blessing and that the smaller pieces he wrote at the time of the First Symphony were more interesting. This trend was evident in his chamber pieces of the 1970s, which were slightly more radical than the larger symphonies, notably Coursing (1979) for chamber orchestra.

In the early '80s, Knussen's compositional energies were concentrated on two large scale projects which he termed fantasy operas, settings of children's books by Maurice Sendak, who became the librettist: Where the Wild Things Are (1979-1983), and Higgledy Piggledy Pop (1984-1990). These works use varied compositional resources, including layers of contrasting rhythms (polyrhythms) and very subtle orchestral colors, to create a range of refined textures. Many styles are also present, from jazz to Mozart references.

Shortly afterwards, the composer became attracted to music on a more miniature time frame, for example in the orchestral Flourish with Fireworks (1988). This work is in a line of pieces which use subtle references to the works of older composers. The Whitman Settings, for soprano and orchestra, although originally composed for voice with piano in 1991, were written as the composer was attracted to four unusually short poems of Walt Whitman.

Knussen's conducting career has encompassed a wide-ranging repertoire, and he specializes in the works of contemporary composers. He has been the music director of the London Sinfonietta (an ensemble which also frequently perform his own music) and the artistic director of Aldeburgh Festival from 1992 to 1998. In that same period, he was principal guest conductor of the Residentie Orchestra, The Hague. In 1989 he was appointed associate guest conductor with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and from 1986-1990 was the coordinator of contemporary music activities at the Tanglewood Music Centre. He was named a commander of the British Empire in 1994 and the following year signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon to record contemporary music; many of those albums have won awards. Read less

Featured Oliver Knussen CDs & DVDs:

Britten: Rape Of Lucretia / Knussen, Kirchschlager, Gritton, Bostridge

Release Date: 02/05/2013 Label: Virgin Classics
Catalog: 026722 Number of Discs: 2

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1.

Goehr: Marching To Carcassonne; When Adam Fell; Pastorals / Knussen, Serkin

Label: Naxos Catalog: 8573052 Release Date: 02/26/2013 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Alexander Goehr
Performer: Peter Serkin
Conductor: Oliver Knussen
Orchestra/Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta

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The Very Best Of Benjamin Britten

Label: Virgin Classics Catalog: 026792 Release Date: 02/26/2013 Number of Discs: 3
Composer: Benjamin Britten
Performer: Truls Otterbech Mork, Lars Anders Tomter, Robert Tear, Elisabeth Söderström ...
Conductor: Libor Pesek, Simon Rattle, Oliver Knussen, Iona Brown ...
Orchestra/Ensemble: Endymion Ensemble, Aldeburgh Festival Ensemble

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3.

Britten: Orchestral Works

Label: Emi Classics Catalog: 781602 Release Date: 02/05/2013 Number of Discs: 8
Composer: Benjamin Britten
Performer: Robert Tear, Peter Donohoe, Peter [English Horn] Walden, Wesley Warren ...
Conductor: Libor Pesek, Simon Rattle, Paavo Järvi, Paavo Berglund ...
Orchestra/Ensemble: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Choir ...
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Britten: Rape Of Lucretia / Knussen, Kirchschlager, Gritton, Bostridge

Label: Virgin Classics Catalog: 026722 Release Date: 02/05/2013 Number of Discs: 2
Composer: Benjamin Britten
Performer: Peter Coleman-Wright, Angelika Kirchschlager, Ian Bostridge, Susan Gritton ...
Conductor: Oliver Knussen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Aldeburgh Festival Ensemble
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5.

Knussen: Autumnal / Booth, Josefowicz, Wood, Watkins, Wigglesworth

Label: Nmc Catalog: 178 Release Date: 11/13/2012 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Oliver Knussen
Performer: Oliver Knussen, Ryan Wigglesworth, Huw Watkins, Alexandra Wood ...
Conductor: Oliver Knussen
Orchestra/Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group

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Luke Bedford: Wonderful Two-headed Nightingale

Label: Col Legno Catalog: 40404 Release Date: 10/09/2012 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Luke Bedford
Conductor: Sian Edwards, Oliver Knussen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Scottish Ensemble, Ensemble Modern, Fidelio Trio ...

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7.

Mussorgsky: Pictures At An Exhibition

Label: Deutsche Grammophon Catalog: 001702102 Release Date: 07/24/2012 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Modest Mussorgsky, Alexander Borodin, Aram Khachaturian
Performer: Torgny Sporsen
Conductor: Carlo Maria Giulini, Lorin Maazel, Neeme Järvi, Oliver Knussen ...

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8.

Imaginary Landscapes - Sounds Of America [20-CD Set]

Label: Emi Classics Catalog: 44290 Release Date: 07/03/2012 Number of Discs: 20
Composer: John Philip Sousa, Scott Joplin, Ferde Grofé, George Gershwin ...
Performer: Joshua Rifkin, Ralph Grierson, Richard Rodney Bennett, Barry Tuckwell ...
Conductor: Timothy Foley, George Sponhaltz, Felix Slatkin, Ferde Grofé ...
Orchestra/Ensemble: Great American Main Street Band, Southland Stingers, Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra ...
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9.

Alexander Goehr: Colossos Or Panic

Label: Nmc Catalog: 165 Release Date: 05/29/2012 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Alexander Goehr
Performer: Claire Booth, Hilary Summers
Conductor: Oliver Knussen
Orchestra/Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra, ASKO Ensemble

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10.

Knussen: Symphonies No 2 & 3, Ophelia Dances,Trumpets / Tilson Thomas, Barry, Hirst, Collins

Label: Nmc Catalog: 175 Release Date: 04/24/2012 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Oliver Knussen
Performer: Michael Collins, Ian Mitchell, Dward Pillinger, Linda Hirst ...
Conductor: Michael Tilson Thomas, Oliver Knussen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra, London Sinfonietta
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11.

Britten: The Prince Of The Pagodas; Bartok: The Miraculous Mandarin

Label: Emi Classics Catalog: 49829 Release Date: 05/17/2011 Number of Discs: 2
Composer: Benjamin Britten, Béla Bartók
Performer: John Orford
Conductor: Oliver Knussen, Franz Welser-Möst
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12.

Carter: Concerto For Orchestra; Knussen: Oceans De Terre

Label: Virgin Classics Catalog: 96354 Release Date: 05/03/2011 Number of Discs: 2
Composer: Elliott Carter, Oliver Knussen
Performer: Ole Böhn, Lisa Saffer, Lucy Shelton, Peter Serkin
Conductor: Oliver Knussen
Orchestra/Ensemble: London Sinfonietta, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

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13.

Music Of Elliott Carter, Vol. 8 (16 Compositions, 2002-2009)

Label: Bridge Catalog: 9314 Release Date: 02/09/2010 Number of Discs: 2
Composer: Elliott Carter
Performer: Lucy Shelton, Charles Neidich, Simon Boyar, Huang Hsin-Yun ...
Conductor: Frank Epstein, Oliver Knussen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Juilliard String Quartet, New England Conservatory Percussion Ensemble, BBC Singers ...
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14.

A Festival Of Ballet

Label: Emi Classics Catalog: 67063 Release Date: 01/26/2010 Number of Discs: 50
Composer: Richard Strauss, Gustav Holst, Sergei Prokofiev, Modest Mussorgsky ...
Performer: Barbara Hendricks, Susan Bickley, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Catherine Pierard ...
Conductor: Rudolf Kempe, André Previn, Paavo Järvi, Sir Charles Mackerras ...
Orchestra/Ensemble: Dresden Staatskapelle, London Symphony Orchestra, Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra ...

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15.

Maxwell Davies: Taverner / Knussen, Asbury, Bbc Symphony Orchestra

Label: Nmc Catalog: 157 Release Date: 11/24/2009 Number of Discs: 2
Composer: Peter Maxwell Davies
Performer: John Graham Hall, Peter Hall, Peter Sidhom, Michael Chance ...
Conductor: Stefan Asbury, Oliver Knussen
Orchestra/Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra, New London Children's Choir, London Voices ...
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16.

Taverner: An Opera In Two Acts

Label: Nmc Catalog: NMCD157 Release Date: 11/24/2009 Number of Discs: 2
Composer: Peter Maxwell Davies
Performer: Stephen Pruslin, Peter Sidhom, David Wilson-Johnson, Stuart [Tenor Vocal] Kale ...
Conductor: Oliver Knussen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Fretwork, His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts

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17.

Ruders: Four Dances / Knussen, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group

Label: Dacapo Catalog: 8226028 Release Date: 11/17/2009 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Poul Ruders
Conductor: Oliver Knussen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Birmingham Contemporary Music Group
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18.

The Jerwood Series, Vol. 6

Label: London Sinfonietta Catalog: 22009 Release Date: 09/07/2009 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: James Olsen, Christian Mason, Larry Goves, Claudia Molitor ...
Performer: Rolf Hind, Clio Gould
Conductor: David Porcelijn, Baldur Brönnimann, Oliver Knussen

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19.

100 Best 20th Century Classics

Label: Emi Classics Catalog: 64249 Release Date: 07/28/2009 Number of Discs: 6
Composer: György Ligeti, John Adams, George Gershwin, Aaron Copland ...
Performer: Wayne Marshall, Ralph Kirshbaum, Tasmin Little, Simon Haram ...
Conductor: None, Simon Rattle, Leonard Slatkin, Christopher Warren-Green ...
Orchestra/Ensemble: Artemis String Quartet, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra ...

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20.

Knussen: Where The Wild Thing Are, Higglety Pigglety Pop

Label: Kultur Video Catalog: 4451 Release Date: 06/30/2009 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Oliver Knussen
Performer: Karen Beardsley, Cynthia Buchan
Conductor: Oliver Knussen
Orchestra/Ensemble: London Sinfonietta
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21.

Benjamin: Into The Little Hill, Dance Figures, Sometime Voices / Ollu, Knussen, Nagano, Komsi, Et Al

Label: Nimbus Catalog: 5828 Release Date: 01/13/2009 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: George Benjamin
Performer: Anu Komsi, Hilary Summers, Dietrich Henschel
Conductor: Franck Ollu, Oliver Knussen, Kent Nagano
Orchestra/Ensemble: Ensemble Modern, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Radio Chorus ...
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22.

Britten: The Prince Of The Pagodas / Knussen, London Sinfonietta

Label: Virgin Classics Catalog: 91103 Release Date: 01/07/2009 Number of Discs: 2
Composer: Benjamin Britten
Conductor: Oliver Knussen
Orchestra/Ensemble: London Sinfonietta

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23.

20th-century Masterpieces - 100 Years Of Classical Music

Label: Emi Classics Catalog: 17500 Release Date: 11/24/2008 Number of Discs: 16
Composer: Sergei Rachmaninov, Claude Debussy, Frederick Delius, Gustav Mahler ...
Performer: Leif Ove Andsnes, Christa Ludwig, Martha Argerich, Sarah Chang ...
Conductor: Antonio Pappano, Carlo Maria Giulini, Sir Thomas Beecham, Otto Klemperer ...
Orchestra/Ensemble: Melos Ensemble London
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24.

Benjamin Britten - The Collector's Edition

Label: Emi Classics Catalog: 17526 Release Date: 11/24/2008 Number of Discs: 37
Composer: Benjamin Britten
Performer: Andrew Mead, Jill Gomez, Norman Bailey, Penelope Walker ...
Conductor: Reginald Goodall, Richard Hickox, Daniel Harding, Bernard Haitink ...
Orchestra/Ensemble: Trinity Boys Choir, City of London Sinfonia, Royal Opera House Covent Garden Chorus ...

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25.

Knussen Conducts Knussen / Tuckwell, Shelton

Label: Deutsche Grammophon Catalog: 449572 Release Date: 11/18/2008 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Oliver Knussen
Performer: Barry Tuckwell, Lucy Shelton, Paul Silverthorne, Michael Collins ...
Conductor: Oliver Knussen
Orchestra/Ensemble: London Sinfonietta
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