Oliver Knussen, composer and conductor, has died at the age of 66 after a short illness.

Saluting his “extraordinary impact on the musical community” Faber Music, Knussen’s publisher, confirmed his death earlier today.

Knussen is perhaps best-known as a conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group.

His most famous composition was an operatic adaptation of Maurice Sendak‘s children’s classic ‘Where the Wild Things Are‘.

His health has seen him cancel some concerts recently including one at the Barbican in London.

Knussen was born in Glasgow but grew up on the outskirts of London. He began composing at the age of six and wrote his first symphony at the age of 15 (he later conducted the premiere, given by the London Symphony Orchestra).

As a conductor, he was known for his championing of fellow composers. He became music director of the London Sinfonietta in 1998.