Crystalline III was commissioned by Encounters in Canada. It was first performed by Eve Egoyan at the Glenn Gould Studio at the CBC, on 9th May 2000.
Karen Tanaka: 'From the composition of Crystalline for solo piano in 1988, I have desired to project the image of crystals in sounds and space. Hommage en cristal (1991), Metallic Crystal (1994-95) and Crystalline II (1995-96) are linked to this earlier piece, in which a glassy, solid, yet transparent sound suggests cold, crystal sound sculptures. This idea has been extended and developed in Crystalline III, but it has become more joyful and more rapidly fluttering in space.