The string parts for Peter Maxwell Davies’ fourth in a series of ten string quartets commissioned by the Naxos Recording company.

The Full Score for Peter Maxwell Davies’ fourth in a series of ten string quartets commissioned by the Naxos Recording company first performed by the Maggini Quartet on 20th August 2004 at the Chapel of the Royal Palace Oslo Norway as part of the Olso Chamber Music Festival. Composer Note: The fourth Naxos quartet was written in January and February of 2004 with the intention of producing something lighter and much less fierce than itspredecessor an unpremeditated and spontaneous reaction to the illegal invasion of Iraq.I returned to the well-known Brueghel picture of children's games (1560 now in Vienna) which had been the inspiration for my sixthStrathclyde Concerto for flute and orchestra. These illustrations liberated my musical imagination but I feel it would limit the listener's perception to be too specific about which game relates to exactly which section of thework. Suffice it to say that there is vigorous play - leap-frog bind the devil with a cord truss wrestling - alongside quieter pastimes - masks guess whom I shall choose courting odds and evens. The single movementjuxtaposes these activities as abruptly and intimately as they occur in Brueghel. Rather as the eye is taken into different perspectives and proportions of scale within the picture taking liberties which would never be presentin for instance Brunelleschi architectural drawings so here with a constant sequence of transformation processes I have distorted the neat precise implications of modal progression expressed in the unison opening phrase(from F to B through A sharp/B flat) so that the ear is led en route into the sound equivalents of strange passageways and closed rooms: sicut exposition ludus. As work on the quartet progressed I became aware that Iwas reading into and behind the games adult motives and implications concerning aggression and war with their consequences. It was impossible to escape into innocent childhood fantasy. The nature of the F to B

This work for cello and orchestra was commissioned by the Strathclyde Regional Council and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. It is the second of ten concerti to be written for principal players of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Thefirst performance was given in February 1989 by William Conway and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by the composer.If Davies's Cello Concerto has already evoked comparisons with Elgar's that is perhaps an indicationnot only of its wealth of solo melody (there is hardly a page where the cello is not singing or if not that then dancing) and of its predominantly slow tempos but also of its musical stature. This second Strathclyde concertois a virtuoso piece for the entire ensemble which is used almost throughout as a clutch of soloists rather than as a tutti block. The general tone is one of passionate but interior dialogue especially in the opening Moderato andthe slow movement; and though the finale is more extrovert the work ends back in quietness and rumination.This book contains the solo cello part and a piano reduction of the orchestral score.

This is - so far - the earliest composition by Davies to be available for performance and mighty interesting it is. Written while he was still a young student it provides a candid glimpse of the thing that concerned him: how music could be both forward-moving in the classical Western sense (this is after all a piece for a wholly conventional medium) and repetitive in the manner of the Indian and medieval music in which he was interested. What results is a singular machine geared to an intermittent ostinato in the first violin.Duration c. 5mins.Set of parts. This is a special item which is made to order. Please e-mail our Mail Order Department for furtherinformation.

This work was commissioned by the Naxos Recording Company and is the seventh in a series of ten quartets. It was first performed on 19th October 2005 at the Wigmore Hall London by the Maggini Quartet.

This work was commissioned by Bath International Music Festival and BBC Radio 3. It was first performed on 30th May 2011 at the Assembly Rooms Bath by Kathryn Tickell (Northumbrian Pipes) Joanna MacGregor (Piano) and theNavarra String Quartet.

This piece was written as a tribute to the people of Fair Isle a remote community that lies between Orkney and Shetland which is also the home of the composer. The work was composed for the Grieg Trio of Norway and reflect theensemble's virtuosity with striking cadenzas that showcase the performers. The music is rugged ever-changing and full of the energy of this unique landscape.

An eight minute ensemble composition for Violin Viola and Cello premiered in january 2001 by Marcia Crayford at the St.Columbus Church in London. The piece is based on a Greek byzantine hymn and features a short seriesof transformations. The opening phrase has a tangential flow of reflective thought and the end is calm and wrapt reflecting the titles inwardness.

This work was commissioned by the Strover family for the Maggini Quartet on the occasion of Rosalind Strover’s 100th birthday. It was first performed by the MagginiQuartet on 5th November 2004 at Stoke-by-Nayland Country Club Essex.

This work was a test piece for the International string Quartet competition in 2005 Premio Paulo Borciani It was inspired by a keyboard piece of the same name A Sad Paven for these Distracted Tymes by Thomas Tomkins(1572-1656). Tomkins had a long association with Worcester Cathedral where he was organist - appointed magister choristarum in 1596 - and lived within the precincts until shortly before his death. At the same time he wasorganist of the Chapel Royal. When the city of Worcester surrendered to Cromwell's parliamentary forces in 1646 Tomkins had to watch the hasty dismantling of his cathedral organ and the abolition of all choral services. Thesewere the 'distracted tymes' of the 'sad paven' which he wrote in enforced retirement at Worcester.

This work was commissioned by the Naxos Recording Company and is the fifth in a series of ten quartets. It was first performed on 20th October 2004 at the Wigmore Hall London by the Maggini Quartet.

This work was a test piece for the International string Quartet competition in 2005 Premio Paulo Borciani It was inspired by a keyboard piece of the same name A Sad Paven for these Distracted Tymes by Thomas Tomkins(1572-1656). Tomkins had a long association with Worcester Cathedral where he was organist - appointed magister choristarum in 1596 - and lived within the precincts until shortly before his death. At the same time he wasorganist of the Chapel Royal. When the city of Worcester surrendered to Cromwell's parliamentary forces in 1646 Tomkins had to watch the hasty dismantling of his cathedral organ and the abolition of all choral services. Thesewere the 'distracted tymes' of the 'sad paven' which he wrote in enforced retirement at Worcester.

This work was commissioned by the Strover family for the Maggini Quartet on the occasion of Rosalind Strover’s 100th birthday. It was first performed by the MagginiQuartet on 5th November 2004 at Stoke-by-Nayland Country Club Essex.