Symphony No. 3 (Simpson)

The orchestration is fairly standard, except Simpson required all three flutes to double on piccolos.

The work lasts about 31 minutes in performance (both recorded performances time in at a few seconds under that figure) and is in two movements:

• Allegro ma non troppo
• Adagio - Presto

In two movements, this Symphony conflicts C major and B-flat. The first movement is a dissonant, craggy sonata-allegro in B flat which strays into the orbit of C. The model of this movement has some parallels with the first movement of Symphony No. 9 by Ludwig van Beethoven, but it is still highly individual.

Simpson described the second movement as 'a huge composed accelerando, but with the dynamics repressed'. It is really a slow movement and finale, and the tempo is always increasing. The movement takes a good while to climax. There is a sort of scherzo section in the middle, and the music is always developing, with motives evolving and increasing in familiarity. The movement eventually climaxes, and at this point a great fortissimo blaze on the dominant seventh of C major is played from the orchestra. The climax subsides to a quiet close in C major (the key which eventually prevailed), although B flat can still be heard.

Discography