Orchestral and chamber He began composing seriously while in the army during the war, and then while working as a teacher in Malaya, but could not earn a living from it. His early symphony, Sinfoni Melayu (now lost), was an attempt "to combine the musical elements of the country [Malaya] into a synthetic language which called on native drums and xylophones".Contemporary Composers, ed. Brian Morton and Pamela Collins, Chicago and London: St. James Press, 1992 – A second symphony has also been lost. But his Symphony No 3 in C was commissioned by the University of Iowa Symphony Orchestra in 1974, resulting in the first public performance of an orchestral work by Burgess – a momentous occasion for the composer which spurred him on to renew his composing activities with other large scale works, including a violin concerto for Yehudi Menuhin which remained unperformed due to the violinist's death. More recently, the Symphony was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 as part of the Manchester International Festival in July 2017."Manchester International Festival: Symphony in C", International Burgess Foundation.
Orchestral and chamber He began composing seriously while in the army during the war and then while working as a teacher in Malaya but could not earn a living from it His early symphony Sinfoni Melayu (now lost) was an attempt "to combine the musical elements of the country [Malaya] into a synthetic language which called on native drums and xylophones"Contemporary Composers ed Brian Morton and Pamela Collins Chicago and London St James Press 1992 – A second symphony has also been lost But his Symphony No 3 in C was commissioned by the University of Iowa Symphony Orchestra in 1974 resulting in the first public performance of an orchestral work by Burgess – a momentous occasion for the composer which spurred him on to renew his composing activities with other large scale works including a violin concerto for Yehudi Menuhin which remained unperformed due to the violinist's death More recently the Symphony was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 as part of the Manchester International Festival in July 2017"Manchester International Festival Symphony in C" International Burgess Foundation