The Composition of the „Epoch of Intertextuality”—Symphony No. 3 Circus Maximus by John Corigliano

As many researchers claim, we live in the era of intertextual works. The analysis of the Symphony No. 3 Circus Maximus by the American composer John Corigliano definitely proves this statement. The symphony, finished in 2004, had been commissioned by Jerry Junkin—the conductor of the Wind Ensemble and Director of Bands at UT Austin. It is said to be an example of program music. Corigliano’s main purpose was to show connections between the past (Roman Empire) and the contemporary world. The composer notices that animalization and coerciveness are characteristics of people living in these two eras. The composition consists of eight movements and is written for wind ensemble and percussion. The aim of this article is to show intertextual connotations and references present in the composition, such as: allusions, stylizations, reminiscences, and memory of genre. In order to achieve this aim, the author used Mieczysław Tomaszewski’s systematics of music-in-music existence. Moreover, similarities to Gustav Mahler and Charles Ives’ compositions are shown.