Symphony No. 3 “Universe”

After the “Istanbul Symphony”, premiered in 2010, and the “Mesopotamia Symphony”, composed in 2012, Universe represents Fazıl Say’s third excursion into symphonic territory. In this work, he shuns any programmatic content with regional associations, instead focussing his attention on astronomical associations in a variety of different perspectives. While the movements dedicated to the planets Venus and Jupiter can be considered as new interpretations of Holst’s music, the search for a second Earth and the explosion of stars goes far beyond the confines of our cosmic front garden. The outer movements of this new symphony transport us to the ultimate limits of our knowledge: we experience mysterious dark material clothed in musical form and are confronted by the consideration of what fate our universe is heading towards in the distant future.