Audio CD review:
Peter Maxwell Davies - Peter Maxwell Davies: Naxos Quartets Nos. 7 and 8

Peter Maxwell Davies - Peter Maxwell Davies: Naxos Quartets Nos. 7 and 8

Band: Peter Maxwell Davies Title: Peter Maxwell Davies: Naxos Quartets Nos. 7 and 8 Rating: Release Date: 24 April, 2007 Media: Audio CD Tracks:

Editoral Review 7 and 8, commissioned by Naxos. These are the premiere performances of Peter Maxwell Davies' quartets Nos. The Seventh is in seven slow movements, and, the composer tells us, was inspired by several churches in Rome designed by the Baroque architect Borromini in the 17th century. Davies became fascinated with these buildings in the 1950s; he admired and was puzzled by Borromini's use of space and light and his combination of tradition and innovation. Each movement is a metaphor, and in the notes that accompany this CD, Davies attempts to describe what he saw and how he has attempted to translate it into music. Not being in the churches or being familiar with them, the overall effect is oblique at best: we're better off just listening to these brooding, dark movements and trying to get whatever we can out of them. At one point slashing chords offer a medieval flavor; the 6th movement's first two minutes are entirely pizzicato. Overall, the quartet is more interesting than enjoyable or entertaining. Unlike Shostakovich's last, one-slow-movement-after-another quartet, which manages to be very moving, this might leave listeners cold. The Eighth Quartet, in one movement, is a tribute to Queen Elizabeth on her 80th birthday and is based on Dowland's "Queen Elizabeth's Galliard. " While its textures are just as dense as those in the Seventh, they are not quite as dreary, and in the last three minutes, the Dowland work shines through in an almost entertaining fashion. The playing of the Maggini Quartet is exemplary. --Robert Levine .. You can see a complete list of all Peter Maxwell Davies discography, or go back to the Peter Maxwell Davies tabs