Oliver Knussen

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Oliver Knussen (born June 12, 1952 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a British composer and conductor. His father, Stuart Knussen, was principal double bass of the London Symphony Orchestra. He studied composition with John Lambert, and later received encouragement from Benjamin Britten. He spent several summers studying with Gunther Schuller at the Tanglewood Music Festival in Massachusetts. He later became the Head of Contemporary Music Activities at Tanglewood, from 1986-1998.

Knussen made his conducting debut at the age of 16, with the London Symphony Orchestra, directing his own First Symphony, which he wrote as a teenager (1966-1967). Knussen has served as Principal Guest Conductor of Het Residentie Orkest (Residentie Orchestra, The Hague) from 1992-1996. He was Co-Artistic Director of the Aldeburgh Festival from 1983-1998. He was Music Director of the London Sinfonietta from 1998-2002, and is now its Conductor Laureate.

His compositions include the following:

Second Symphony (Margaret Grant Prize, Tanglewood 1971)
Hums and Songs of Winnie-the-Pooh (1970-1983)
Océan de Terre (1972-1973)
Ophelia Dances, Book 1 (Koussevitzky centennial commission, 1975)
Trumpets (1975)
Triptych (Autumnal, Cantata, Sonya's Lullaby, 1975-1977)
Coursing (1979)
Third Symphony (1973-1979)

His major works from the 1980s are his two "children's" operas, Where the Wild Things Are and Higglety Pigglety Pop!, both with libretti by Maurice Sendak.

Knussen was married to Sue Knussen, who was a producer and director of music programs for British television and the education director for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and they had a daughter, Sonya. Sue Knussen died in 2003. Oliver Knussen wrote his Songs for Sue as a memorial tribute to his late wife, and the music received its world premiere in Chicago in 2006.