A monumental and distinctly Brahmsian work, Enescu's Third Symphony is an emotionally intense war symphony of grandiose dimension. Scored for orchestra and chorus, it calls for large forces to be deployed in execution of the composer's vision—12 double basses, for example, including two soli. It anticipates Oedipe in its philosophical approach and indeed in some of its thematic material which finds its way into Enescu's magnum opus. Its lavish orchestration and its entry into a completely new world of harmonic thinking for the composer make it a much more advanced work than the Second Symphony, for example. But it is a much less difficult symphony to grasp, since its melodic lines and majestic expressiveness lead the listener unerringly through the sweeping scope of the first two movements to the sparsely orchestrated and carillon-like conclusion.

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