The Naxos Quartets are a series of ten

string quartets The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinist ...

by the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

composer

Peter Maxwell Davies Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music. As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Musi ...

. They were written between 2001 and 2007 to a commission from Naxos Records. In 2001 the

Maggini Quartet The Maggini Quartet is a British string quartet. Its members are Julian Leaper (Violin 1), Ciaran McCabe (Violin 2), Martin Outram (Viola) and Michal Kaznowski (Cello). Formed in 1988, the Quartet is known for championing the British repertoir ...

was appointed to record all ten for the record label. The first quartet was premiered by the Magginis at the

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadi ...

on 17 October 2002. The series of quartets can be considered a multi-installment "novel". Not all of the quartets have explicit extra-musical references, although the landscape and culture of Davies' adopted Orkney remain ever present. Davies has stated that the Third Quartet is a manifestation of his feelings of outrage at the

invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

in 2003. By contrast the Fourth Quartet, subtitled ''Children's Games'', takes as its inspiration Pieter Bruegel the Elder's eponymous painting of 1560. The Fifth Quartet uses a motif of the flashing of

lighthouses A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

in Orkney. The Seventh Quartet is a tribute to the Baroque architect Francesco Borromini, and the Eighth Quartet, based on

John Dowland John Dowland (c. 1563 – buried 20 February 1626) was an English Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep", " Come again", "Flow my tears", " I saw my Lady weepe", ...

's ''Queen Elizabeth’s Galliard'', is dedicated to Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

on the occasion of her eightieth birthday. The string quartets are not Davies' only work in the genre: his first published composition was a movement for string quartet, and he produced a mature quartet in 1961. Two ''Little Quartets'' appeared in 1980 and 1987.Maxwell Davies and the String Quartet, ''Composition Today'' website
Compositiontoday.com. Retrieved on 2010-07-23. There is also the unfinished final String Quartet (2016, op. 338), of which only the first movement was completed. All ten quartets are now available on five discs or downloads from Naxos Records.

References

Further reading