Symphony instruments, 19th century symphonies were gradually augmented with more string players and more wind parts, so that the orchestra grew substantially in sheer numbers, as concert halls likewise grew. At the beginning of the 20th century, Gustav Mahler wrote long, large-scale symphonies. His Eighth Symphony, for example, was composed in 1906 and is nicknamed the "Symphony of a Thousand" because of the large number of voices required to perform the work. Additionally, his Third Symphony is one of the longest regularly performed symphonies at around 100 minutes in length for most performances. The 20th century also saw further diversification in
Symphony No. 3 (Davies) Symphony No. 3 (Davies) The Symphony No. 3 by Peter Maxwell Davies was composed in 1984 on a commission from the BBC Philharmonic, who gave the world premiere on 19 February 1985, at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester, with Edward Downes conducting. The form of the symphony, along with those of its predecessors, owes a great debt to the symphonies of Sibelius . A second influence came from Renaissance architecture, particularly the churches of Filippo Brunelleschi. Davies explains that his use of Fibonacci numbers to proportion the symphony was modelled directly on Brunelleschi's structures . The symphony is scored