Symphony No. 3 (Nielsen)

Nielsen's workroom on Vodroffsvej where he completed the Sinfonia Espansiva in 1911

The Danish composer Carl Nielsen wrote his Symphony No. 3 "Sinfonia Espansiva", Op. 27, FS 60, between 1910 and 1911. Around 35 minutes in length,[1] it is unique in his symphonic output for having vocal parts, specifically wordless solos for soprano and baritone in the second movement.

The symphony followed Nielsen's tenure as bandmaster at the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen. Nielsen himself conducted the premiere of the work, along with the premiere of his Violin Concerto, on February 28, 1912 with Copenhagen's Royal Danish Orchestra.[2][3]

Within two months of its premiere the symphony was in the repertoire of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, and by 1913 it had seen performances in Germany (Stuttgart), Sweden (Stockholm) and in Finland (Helsinki). It did not receive a public performance in the United Kingdom until 1962, under Bryan Fairfax.[4]

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  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference m79-p238 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Carl Nielsen, Symphony No. 3 'Sinfonia espansiva'". BBC Music. Retrieved 3 January 2019.