Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (1934-2016): RIP

[Dundonnell]

It comes as no great surprise but still very sad to hear that Sir Peter Maxwell Davies has died at the age of 81. There will be fulsome tributes  in the media in the days to come and they will be well merited.

[Alex Bozman]

As you say, while Sir Peter's passing appeared inevitable, it's no less sad. It will be interesting to see how posterity views him, one of the great British composers of the last 50 years +, but in some ways quite an isolated figure. Personally, I'm much less familiar with his output of the last couple of decades, something to try and rectify. 

[Neil McGowan]

Alongside his mainstream work, PMD's works for children, and involving children in performance, have been an incalculable contribution to musical culture.

[ahinton]

Alongside his mainstream work, PMD's works for children, and involving children in performance, have been an incalculable contribution to musical culture.

They have indeed - and quite how he ever found time to write as much as he did I really do not know!

[Dundonnell]

Alongside his mainstream work, PMD's works for children, and involving children in performance, have been an incalculable contribution to musical culture.

They have indeed - and quite how he ever found time to write as much as he did I really do not know!

In the last 20 years of his life Maxwell Davies wrote 50 works involving the orchestra; 24 of these are over 20 minutes in duration; of the 24 only 4 have made it to cd. Yet the sad irony is that much of the music of these last twenty years is more "accessible" than the earlier music.

[relm1]

Alongside his mainstream work, PMD's works for children, and involving children in performance, have been an incalculable contribution to musical culture.

They have indeed - and quite how he ever found time to write as much as he did I really do not know!

In the last 20 years of his life Maxwell Davies wrote 50 works involving the orchestra; 24 of these are over 20 minutes in duration; of the 24 only 4 have made it to cd. Yet the sad irony is that much of the music of these last twenty years is more "accessible" than the earlier music.

Even with a steady stream of Naxos releases?   I really enjoy some of them.

[Dundonnell]

Alongside his mainstream work, PMD's works for children, and involving children in performance, have been an incalculable contribution to musical culture.

They have indeed - and quite how he ever found time to write as much as he did I really do not know!

In the last 20 years of his life Maxwell Davies wrote 50 works involving the orchestra; 24 of these are over 20 minutes in duration; of the 24 only 4 have made it to cd. Yet the sad irony is that much of the music of these last twenty years is more "accessible" than the earlier music.

Even with a steady stream of Naxos releases?   I really enjoy some of them.

The most recent work on any Naxos cd is "Maxwell's Reel, with Northern Lights" of 1998, opus 191. The Symphony No.10 of 2013 is opus 327.

The works which most intrigue me (because I have never heard them) are the Orkney Sagas Nos. I-V (1997-2000), Tone Poem "Roma Amor" (1998, dedicated to Petrassi), the Horn Concerto (1999, although it got bad reviews), "Canticum Canticorum" (2001, a 50 minute oratorio) and "Das Rauschende der Farbe" for orchestra(2006).

[britishcomposer]

The works which most intrigue me (because I have never heard them) are the Orkney Sagas Nos. I-V (1997-2000), Tone Poem "Roma Amor" (1998, dedicated to Petrassi), the Horn Concerto (1999, although it got bad reviews), "Canticum Canticorum" (2001, a 50 minute oratorio) and "Das Rauschende der Farbe" for orchestra(2006).

With compliments!  ;D

[Dundonnell]

The works which most intrigue me (because I have never heard them) are the Orkney Sagas Nos. I-V (1997-2000), Tone Poem "Roma Amor" (1998, dedicated to Petrassi), the Horn Concerto (1999, although it got bad reviews), "Canticum Canticorum" (2001, a 50 minute oratorio) and "Das Rauschende der Farbe" for orchestra(2006).

With compliments!  ;D

Superb! Thank you so much :)

(Btw I should have written "Orkney Sagas I-III and V" since there is no IV. Fourteen were originally planned, each subtitled after banners displayed at the St.Magnus Festival in Kirkwall, Orkney  in 1998 with captions by the Orcadian poet and friend of the composer, George Mackay Brown. Only three pieces were ever completed.)

[britishcomposer]

I corrected the birthdate to 1934 in the downloads section. Sorry, Alastair!
Perhaps you could delete your remark there because the section is for downloads only.

[ahinton]

I corrected the birthdate to 1934 in the downloads section. Sorry, Alastair!

Alistair, actually - but no need to apologise!

Perhaps you could delete your remark there because the section is for downloads only.

Done!

[Dundonnell]

.....also

"The Three Kings" for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, chorus and orchestra(1995): first performance London Symphony Orchestra/Richard Hickox, London 1995

"A Reel of Seven Fishermen" for orchestra(1998): first performance San Francisco Symphony Orchestra/the composer, San Francisco 1998

      (which I have just discovered-too late-was performed and broadcast by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra/John Storgards on 14 March this year!)

"Temenos, with Mermaids and Angels" for flute and orchestra(1998): first performance Richard Davis (flute) and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra/the composer, Dublin 1999

"A Dance on the Hill" for mezzo-soprano and orchestra(2002): first performance Pamela Helen Stephen (mezzo-soprano) and the City of London Sinfonia/Richard Hickox, London 2005

(no harm in me trying ;D)

[northern]

Massive thanks to British composer for the large scale orchestral works. Like Alex, I lost my familiarity with PMD's work in the late 90s when the Collins cds ended. These latest uploads, together with the youtube rareclassix channel uploads have helped fill in the gap.