Symphony No. 3

Symphony No. 3 (1974/1986) by Gloria Coates is a 27-minute work for string orchestra in six movements:

I. Icarus

II. Interplay

III. Resistances

IV. Poem

V. Mirror

VI. Dance

In the string quartets she wrote during the 1970s, Gloria Coates developed a method of composing using glissando lines in counterpoint which become structures, "somewhat like a builder using wooden boards to build a house" (Gloria Coates). Two of the contrasting movements, Interplay and Mirror, were both composed in 1974 and make use of glissando lines as the primary element in the music.

Symphony No. 3 was first performed at the Heidelberg Festival 1988 by the Swedish Strings Uppsala, conducted by Roland Haraldson.

The full score (EP 14589) is available for sale as part of the Peters Contemporary Library. The performance material can be hired.