Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (1934–2016)

Symphony No.10 Alla ricerca di Borromini (2013) 45’
Commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, premiere Feb 2014

Concert Overture: Ebb of Winter (2012) 18’
Commissioned by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, premiere Nov 2013

Symphony No.9 (2012) 30’
Commissioned by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Helsinki Philharmonic, premiere 2012

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Fiddler on the Shore (2009) 25’
Violin Concerto commissioned by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra with soloist Daniel Hope

Naxos Quartets (2002-2007)
Cycle of 10 string quartets commissioned by Naxos

Conductors performing the music of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies include:

Marin Alsop, Stefan Asbury, Jiři Bělohlavek, Andrey Boreyko, Douglas Boyd, Martyn Brabbins, Baldur Bronnimann, Nicholas Collon, Paul Daniel, Michal Dworzynski, Rumon Gamba, Edward Gardner, Ben Gurnon, Leo Hussain, James Judd, Oliver Knussen, Grant Llewelyn, James MacMillan, Kent Nagano, Gianandrea Noseda, Sakari Oramo, Andres Orozco-Estrada, Peter Oundjian, Vasily Petrenko, Donald Runnicles, Leonard Slatkin, Thomas Søndergård, John Storgards, Joseph Swensen, Illan Volkov and Garry Walker

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies turned 80 years old on 8 September 2014, a milestone which was celebrated widely across the year both in the UK and abroad.

Highlights included the world premiere of Maxwell Davies' Symphony No.10: ‘Alla ricerca di Borromini’ by the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Antonio Pappano, with Markus Butter as baritone soloist and the London Symphony Chorus, directed by Simon Halsey. Widely acclaimed in the press: “music functioning as liquid architecture: monumental, certainly, but lightened by a grace and brilliance worthy of the buildings that inspired it" (New York Times) and “one of the most movingly personal of Davies's recent scores, and a major new symphony” (Guardian).

The Italian premiere of Symphony No.10 took place in June 2014 with the Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia with Pappano.

The BBC Proms celebrated his 80th birthday with a host of Maxwell Davies’ works performed throughout the Proms season:

Sinfonia performed by Lapland Chamber Orchestra conducted by John Storgards

Concert Suite from Caroline Mathilde with BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Thomas Sondergard

Maxwell Davies Composer Portrait at the Royal College of Music performed by the London Sinfonietta Academy

Symphony No.5 performed by the BBC Philharmonic conducted by John Storgards

All-Maxwell Davies matinee Prom: Linguae ignis; Revelation and Fall; A Mirror of Whitening Light with the London Sinfonietta conducted by Sian Edwards.

All-Maxwell Davies late night Prom: Ebb of Winter; Strathclyde Concerto No.4 (Clarinet concerto with Dmitri Ashkenazy); An Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise on his birthday with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Ben Gernon.

Maxwell Davies’ 80th birthday was celebrated at festivals throughout the year, including the Bath Festival, Maggio Musicale Florence, Biennale di Venezia and at the St Magnus International Festival, which Maxwell Davies founded in 1977, where the most touching tribute was a concert of his pieces for children’s choirs, performed by pupils from primary and secondary schools in the Orkney Islands.

In Glasgow, Maxwell Davies celebrated with a day of concerts entitled Max at 80: A Celebration at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Halls including performances by the Hebrides Ensemble, Sean Shibe and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

Elsewhere in 2014, birthday portrait concerts were held by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Philharmonic conducted by HK Gruber. Psappha Ensemble performed a birthday concert in Manchester with the UK premiere of The Trojan Games when they also celebrated a special birthday release on LP of their recording of Eight Songs for A Mad King, recorded in 2012 under Maxwell Davies’ supervision.

Master of the Queen’s Music

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies held the post of Master of the Queen’s Music from 2004-2014, in which role he composed music for royal occasions and celebrations and sought to raise the profile of music in Great Britain. In this unique position of musical figurehead and advisor Max was widely applauded for raising awareness of the role, including through the creation of the Queen’s Medal for Music, awarded annually to a musician who has made a significant contribution to the musical life of the nation. Max wrote a Christmas carol as a gift to Her Majesty for Christmas each year.

Themes

Maxwell Davies has often been inspired by ideas from the world around him, meaning that his music connects with many thematic ideas, including:

Environmentalism
The Sea
Wildlife
War
Politics
Early music
Royalty
Architecture
Scotland
Italy

Education

Maxwell Davies’ lifelong passion for music education manifests itself in the wide variety of teaching and speaking activities he continues to lead in the UK and abroad (including in German and Italian, spoken fluently). These engagements include one-on-one tuition sessions with young composers, group seminars, lectures on his own life and works, question & answer sessions with young students, mentoring young composers and coaching his own chamber music works.

Maxwell Davies speaks on a wide range of topics to the public and to students of all abilities, offering a unique and fascinating insight into his mind both as composer and academic. Recent public lecture topics include: “The Changing Face of New Music” - Lecture on Chopin Ballades - “The Changing Role of the Composer in Society” - “The relationship between music and science” - Seminar on Musical Structure and Architecture.