June 12 - Oliver Knussen (The Musical Birthday Series, 3rd Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for June 12th are found here: Richard M. Sherman (2019) and Jim Nabors (2020)

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Oliver Knussen (12 June 1952 – 8 July 2018) was a widely played and much admired British composer and conductor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Early Riser; or, Morning Disaffirmations

Aged 15, Knussen stepped in to conduct his symphony's première at the Royal Festival Hall, London,  after István Kertész fell ill.--- Wikipedia

 

Oliver Knussen created a scene

  By conducting the world premiere

Of a symphony written when he was fifteen,

  For the musical world to hear.

It’s stories like this that leave regular folk

  With a feeling that something is lacking;

That our petty achievements are mirrors and smoke,

  And the best that we do only slacking;

That our journey through life is a kind of joke,

  And we shouldn’t have started unpacking!

 

 

 

 

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