Oliver Knussen’s music occupies a respected and regularly revisited place in concert and opera programmes worldwide. His Third Symphony, his opera Where the Wild Things Are and Violin Concerto are among the most frequently performed British works of recent times. As an acclaimed and much-invited conductor, the force of his presence and influence on contemporary music has been felt in many parts of the world.
He has enjoyed long and close collaborations with many distinguished composers, including Elliott Carter, Alexander Goehr, Hans Werner Henze, Mauricio Kagel, Toru Takemitsu, Magnus Lindberg, George Benjamin and Mark Anthony-Turnage, as well as encouraging many younger composer-collegues through his work at Tanglewood and the Contemporary Composition and Performance courses (which he co-founded with Colin Matthews) at the Britten-Pears school in Snape, Suffolk, where he now lives.
Oliver Knussen is an Honorary Member of the Royal Philharmonic Society and of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He holds an Honorary Doctorate from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and was made a CBE in the June 1994 Birthday Honours. In January 2005 he was presented with the Association of British Orchestras’ Award for his exceptional contribution to Britain’s orchestral life. He has recently been awarded the 2006 Nemmers Prize – a mark of his outstanding achievement in the field of composition. Knussen was cited by the selection committee of the award for "his uniquely focused, vibrantly varied music and his total embrace – as a profoundly influential composer, conductor and educator – of today's musical culture."
Biography
Knussen wins 2006 Nemmers Composition Prize
Knussen announced Artist-in-Association at BCMG
