It was not until the beginning of 1910 that Nielsen started to consider writing a third symphony. The first movement was finished on 13 April; then the symphony was put aside for a while so that he could concentrate on the music for the play Hagbarth og Signe, which was to be finished for a performance in June. In July, Nielsen continued working on the symphony, but was forced to stop because of a depression. It was finished in the autumn and winter of 1910–11 under very difficult circumstances because of Nielsen's duties at The Royal Theatre. See more about this work at The Royal Library