Threnody for piano, harp, and strings memorialises composer Toru Takemitsu. It is the second piece making up Matthews’ larger work Renewal, and its material is partly derived from 1992’s Memorial. Threnody was commissioned by the BBC for the 50th anniversary of the Third Programme, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Oliver Knussen in 1994. The 12-minute work, Matthews writes, “is very static and intense, but from after its half-way point…gradually relaxes and dies away in gentle homage to Takemitsu.” 

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