Roy Harris's Symphony No. 3 features a continuous organic growth rather than traditional symphonic development, using a superb economy of means.
Critical Reception
The twenty-year-old Leonard Bernstein described Roy Harris's Symphony No. 3 as 'mature in every sense, beautifully proportioned, eloquent, restrained, and affecting'.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Roy Harris's Symphony No. 3 draws creative inspiration from plainsong, Renaissance polyphony, hymnody, and folk-song, which he blends into his unique style.
Critical Reception
Serge Koussevitzky, conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, called Roy Harris's Symphony No. 3 'the first great symphony by an American composer'.
Composer Biography
Before becoming a prominent composer, Roy Harris drove a dairy truck by day while studying composition privately in the evenings.
Composer Biography
Roy Harris, the composer, was born in Oklahoma and raised by Scottish and Irish farmers whose ancestors were stagecoach riders.
Composition History
Roy Harris's Symphony No. 3, written in 1938, incorporated material from his earlier String Quartet, Second Symphony, and an unfinished Violin Concerto.
