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. (en)
Davies, Peter Maxwell. 1985. "Programme Note by the Composer". Booklet to Peter Maxwell Davies: Symphony No. 3. BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Dennis Simons , Edward Downes . BBC Artium. CD recording. BBC CD 560. [London?]: BBC Enterprises. (en)
Jones, Nicholas. 2002. "Peter Maxwell Davies's Basic Unifying Hypothesis: Dominant Logic". The Musical Times 143, no. 1878 : 37–45. (en)
Warnaby, John. 2001. "Davies, Peter Maxwell". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan. (en)
Davies, Peter Maxwell. 1994. Notes in the booklet to Maxwell Davies: Symphony No. 3, 2–3. BBC Philharmonic, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, cond. CD recording. Collins Classics 14162. St Mary Cray, Orpington, Kent: Lambourne Productions Limited. (en)
Jones, Nicholas. 2000. "Peter Maxwell Davies's "Submerged Cathedral": Architectural Principles in the Third Symphony", Music & Letters 81, no. 3 : 402–432. (en)
Jones, Nicholas. 1998. " 'Preliminary Workings': the Precompositional Process in Maxwell Davies's Third Symphony", Tempo, no. 204:14–22. (en)