Sir Peter Maxwell Davies | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Known to his friends simply as Max, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies was one of the most prolific and frequently performed of British composers. His several hundred compositions drew from an eclectic array of influences, from Indian music to serialism to Renaissance polyphony. Davies also worked tirelessly in the area of music education and as an environmental activist. The precocious Davies made his musical debut in a BBC broadcast at age eight. His education continued at Leigh Grammar School and from 1952 at Manchester University, where he received an M.A. in 1957. He also attended the Royal Manchester College of Music from 1952 to 1956, where he and fellow musicians Sir Harrison Birtwistle, John Ogdon, Alexander Goehr, and Elgar Howarth formed New Music Manchester -- a group devoted to the performance of twentieth century works. The Italian government provided Davies with a scholarship in 1957, allowing him to study in Italy for a year with Goffredo Petrassi. From 1959 to 1962, Davies was director of music at the Cirencester Grammar School, where he developed a teaching method based on musical performance. Since then he has written often for children, and continues to devote significant time to education. He spent the next two years in the United States, studying at Princeton Universitys graduate school with Roger Sessions and Earl Kim on a Harkness Fellowship. He wrote The Shepherds Calendar (1965) for young singers and instrumentalists for the 1965 UNESCO Conference on Music in Education in Sydney, Australia, and was a visiting composer at Adelaide University in 1966. Back in England in 1967, Davies formed the Pierrot Players with Birtwistle. The Players specialized in performances of contemporary music, and Davies wrote many works for them, including his infamous Eight Songs for a Mad King (1969). He took over sole directorship of the Players in 1970, reforming them as the Fires of London (which he continued to lead and compose for until he disbanded the group in 1987). During the 1960s, Davies became interested in John Taverner, the sixteenth century English composer. In 1962, he wrote the award-winning First Fantasia on an In Nomine of John Taverner, and started work on his first opera, Taverner, which was premiered in 1972. In 1970, Davies relocated to the Orkney Islands; Orcadian subject matter, in particular, the writings of George Mackey Brown and the Orcadian St. Magnus became a significant part of his music. Browns writings have inspired works like Black Pentecost (1979) and the massive Orkney Saga project (the first two of its proposed fourteen parts appeared in 1997). In 1977, Davies organized the St. Magnus Festival, which he directed until 1986. The Yellow Cake Revue for singers and piano (1980) features a text by Davies criticizing proposed uranium mining in the Orkneys and is just one of his compositions reflecting his environmental concerns. Davies received his knighthood in 1987. Two years earlier, he became the Associate Composer-Conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, an association which led to the Strathclyde Concerto Project, a set of ten concertos for various instruments written over the years 1987 to 1996. His interest in childrens music continued with the frequently performed The Turn of the Tide (1992), in which Davies music is combined with compositions by school children. Among his numerous commissioned works are An Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise (1984), written for the centennial of the Boston Pops; The Doctor of Myddfai (1995), his second full-scale opera, written for the fiftieth anniversary of the Welsh National Opera; and the Symphony No. 8, "Antarctic" (2000), commissioned by the Philharmonia Orchestra. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 8 Title: Naxos Quartets nos. 3 and 4 Released: Tracks: 5 Duration: 56:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Naxos Quartet no. 3: I. March (08:03) 2 Naxos Quartet no. 3: II. In Nomine (11:40) 3 Naxos Quartet no. 3: III. Four Inventions and a Hymn (06:20) 4 Naxos Quartet no. 3: IV. Fugue (05:11) 5 Naxos Quartet no. 4 “Children’s Games”: I. Moderato (24:51) |
 | Album: 2 of 8 Title: New Music From Britain Released: 1965 Tracks: 5 Duration: 52:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Two Choruses, op. 14: "I had hope when violence was ceasd" (04:25) 2 Two Choruses, op. 14: "Take but degree away" (03:38) 3 Leopardi Fragments (17:12) 4 Symphony for Voices (14:58) 5 Calendar (11:54) |
 | Album: 3 of 8 Title: Hymn to St. Magnus / Psalm 124 / Renaissance Scottish Dances Released: 1976 Tracks: 4 Duration: 55:10 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Renaissance Scottish Dances (09:00) 2 Hymn to St. Magnus (beginning) (15:30) 3 Hymn to St. Magnus (conclusion) (21:00) 4 Psalm 124 (09:40) |
 | Album: 4 of 8 Title: The Devils / The Boyfriend / Seven in Nomine Released: 1990 Tracks: 18 Duration: 1:02:04 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Suite From The Boyfriend: Honeymoon Fantasy (02:08) 2 Suite From The Boyfriend: Sur La Plage (02:00) 3 Suite From The Boyfriend: A Room in Bloomsbury (03:21) 4 Suite From The Boyfriend: I Could Be Happy (03:56) 5 Suite From The Boyfriend: The "You-Dont-Want..." (02:40) 6 Suite From The Boyfriend: Poor Little Pierette (03:19) 7 Suite From The Boyfriend: Pollys Dream (07:41) 8 Suite From The Devils: Titles (02:02) 9 Suite From The Devils: Sister Jeannes Vision (05:00) 10 Suite From The Devils: Exorcism (04:35) 11 Suite From The Devils: Execution and End Music (08:34) 12 Seven In Nomine: In Nomine (02:03) 13 Seven In Nomine: In Nomine (05:08) 14 Seven In Nomine: In Nomine (01:09) 15 Seven In Nomine: In Nomine (02:55) 16 Seven In Nomine: In Nomine (01:08) 17 Seven In Nomine: Gloria Tibi Trinitas (01:52) 18 Seven In Nomine: In Nomine (02:33) |
 | Album: 5 of 8 Title: A Life in Music, Volume 13: Violin Concertos Released: 1995 Tracks: 6 Duration: 53:45 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, op. 14: I. Allegro (10:16) 2 Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, op. 14: II. Andante (08:30) 3 Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, op. 14: III. Presto in moto (04:00) 4 Concerto for Violin and Orchestra: I. Allegro moderato (16:42) 5 Concerto for Violin and Orchestra: II. Adagio (06:41) 6 Concerto for Violin and Orchestra: III. Allegro non troppo (07:34) |
 | Album: 6 of 8 Title: The Beltane Fire / Caroline Mathilde (Concert Suite from Act II of the Ballet) Released: 1996-03-01 Tracks: 14 Duration: 38:06 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 The Beltane Fire: Scene 1: In the Barn of the Bu (06:39) 2 The Beltane Fire: Interlude I (02:09) 3 The Beltane Fire: Scene 2: A Field (09:12) 4 The Beltane Fire: Interlude II (02:11) 5 The Beltane Fire: Scene 3: The Kirk (04:10) 6 The Beltane Fire: Scene 4: The Field (04:36) 7 The Beltane Fire: Scene 5: The Beltane Fire (09:06) 8 Caroline Mathilde: I. A Public Square (?) 9 Caroline Mathilde: II. The Conspiracy (?) 10 Caroline Mathilde: III. The Masked Ball-Court Dance (?) 11 Caroline Mathilde: IV. The Masked Ball-Pas de Deux (?) 12 Caroline Mathilde: V. The Arrest (?) 13 Caroline Mathilde: VI. The Execution (?) 14 Caroline Mathilde: VII. The Exile of Caroline Mathilde (?) |
 | Album: 7 of 8 Title: Symphony no. 3 / Cross Lane Fair Released: 2012-07 Tracks: 13 Duration: 1:12:22 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Symphony no. 3: I. Lento - Adagio - Andante - Moderato - Allegretto - Allegro moderato - Allegro - Allegro alla breve (18:54) 2 Symphony no. 3: II. Allegro (09:02) 3 Symphony no. 3: III. Allegro vivace: Scorrevole e bisbigliando (07:46) 4 Symphony no. 3: IV. Lento - Adagio flessible (22:09) 5 Cross Lane Fair: Introduction (02:08) 6 Cross Lane Fair: Fairground (01:03) 7 Cross Lane Fair: Ghost Train (01:58) 8 Cross Lane Fair: Transition (00:45) 9 Cross Lane Fair: The Bearded Lady and the Five Legged Sheep (01:39) 10 Cross Lane Fair: Transition (00:29) 11 Cross Lane Fair: The Juggler (02:34) 12 Cross Lane Fair: Transition (00:50) 13 Cross Lane Fair: The Roundabout (03:04) |
 | Album: 8 of 8 Title: Symphony no. 10 Released: 2014-10-17 Tracks: 4 Duration: 41:56 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Symphony no. 10: Part One. Adagio (15:24) 2 Symphony no. 10: Part Two. Allegro (07:25) 3 Symphony no. 10: Part Three. Presto (04:58) 4 Symphony no. 10: Part Four. Adagio (14:07) |