Album

In a career spanning decades, Oliver Knussen has become internationally famous as a conductor, though he is considerably less familiar to audiences as a composer, which was his first musical occupation. Yet despite composing steadily since childhood, Knussen has produced a comparatively small body of work, apparently because he is constrained by his meticulous craftsmanship and self-critical ear, as well as by a hectic conducting schedule. As a result of his small output and selectivity, and in no small part because of the changing instrumentation, this NMC album has the feeling of an ad hoc compilation, recorded by various artists in different settings and times. Knussen himself conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra in three of the essential performances, the Choral (1970-1972), the Violin Concerto (2002), and Requiem—Songs for Sue (2005-2006), and also provided the informative liner notes, so that helps hold the package together. Even so, the interspersing of keyboard music, chamber pieces, and songs gives the album a loose presentation, and listeners who are just getting acquainted with Knussen might find it a little scattered. The key to appreciating this CD and Knussen's music as a whole is to listen for his inventive sonorities and timbres, for much of his music is quite atmospheric and lovely, despite the use of dense textures and dissonances. Knussen's years at the podium have taught him how to make instruments sound extraordinary, and his handling of tone colors makes him one of the easiest of modernists to approach.

© Blair Sanderson, Rovi

CD 1
Oliver Knussen Composer Choral, for band Work Recorded 2012 Oliver Knussen Conductor, Stephen Bryant Orchestra Leader, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group Ensemble
1	Choral, for band	9:53			$1.49
Oliver Knussen Composer Autumnal, for violin & piano (Triptych, Part 1) Work Recorded 2012 7:36 Alexandra Wood Violin, Huw Watkins Piano, Ryan Wigglesworth Piano
2	Nocturne	3:42			$0.99
3	Serenade	3:54			$0.99
Oliver Knussen Composer Whitman Settings, for voice & piano, Op.25 Work Recorded 2012 11:30 Huw Watkins Piano, Ryan Wigglesworth Piano, Claire Booth Soprano
4	When I heard the Learn'd Astronomer	3:06			$0.99
5	A Noiseless Patient Spider	3:18			$0.99
6	The Dalliance of the Eagles	2:05			$0.99
7	The Voice of the Rain	3:01			$0.99
Oliver Knussen Composer Secret Psalm, for violin Work Recorded 2011 Alexandra Wood Violin
8	Secret Psalm, for violin	4:16			$0.99
Oliver Knussen Composer Prayer Bell Sketch, for piano, Op.29 Work Recorded 2012 Huw Watkins Piano, Ryan Wigglesworth Piano
9	Prayer Bell Sketch, for piano, Op.29	6:49			$0.99
Oliver Knussen Composer Violin Concerto Work Recorded 2007 16:05 Oliver Knussen Conductor, BBC Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Leila Josefowicz Violin, Stephen Bryant Orchestra Leader
10	Recitative	5:01			$0.99
11	Aria	5:20			$0.99
12	Gigue	5:44			$0.99
Oliver Knussen Composer Requiem - Songs for Sue, for voice & chamber ensemble Work Recorded 2011 11:18 Oliver Knussen Conductor, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group Ensemble, Claire Booth Soprano
13	From Emily Dickinson	3:57			$0.99
14	Antonio Machado	2:43			$0.99
15	W.H. Auden	3:12			$0.99
16	Rainer Maria Rilke	1:26			$0.99
Oliver Knussen Composer Ophelia's Last Dance, for piano, Op.32 Work Recorded 2012 Huw Watkins Piano, Ryan Wigglesworth Piano
17	Ophelia's Last Dance, for piano, Op.32	9:20			$1.49