‘It was typical of this composer’s music of the moment in saying a great deal within a succinct form.  The intimacy of expression and relative modesty of its harmonies did not exclude…original thought.’
Alan Blyth (The Daily Telegraph), 7 March 1981
 
‘Nicholas Daniel introduced Knussen’s Cantata for oboe and string trio as a masterpiece. And he could well be right, for its highly concentrated form, its clarity of ideas and its astute manipulation of harmony and texture make for something of real substance.’
Geoffrey Norris (The Daily Telegraph), July 97

'...the title aptly reflects both the songful character of the musical invention and the relationship of wind solo to string trio...[a] composition of great charm and precise character; its other virtues, of well-found proportions, distinctive harmonic movement, and secure control of incident, must not be allowed to sound negative ones.'
Max Loppoert, Financial Times, 9 March 1981