Naxos Quartet No. 7 is a tribute to the Baroque architect Francesco Borromini, while Quartet No. 8 is based on John Dowland's 'Queen Elizabeth's Galliard' and dedicated to Queen Elizabeth II for her eightieth birthday.
Composer's Artistic Vision
The composer, Peter Maxwell Davies, draws inspiration from plainchant, musical tradition, and the evocative landscape of his adopted Orkney Islands.
Composition History
The Naxos Quartets Nos. 7 and 8 are part of a series of ten quartets commissioned by Naxos Records, fulfilling the composer's long-held ambition to contribute significantly to chamber music.
Performer Biography
The Maggini Quartet, formed in 1988, is known for championing British composers and has won numerous awards for their recordings, including a Gramophone Chamber Music CD of the Year.
Recording & Production
This album is the fourth release in a series of ten quartets by Peter Maxwell Davies, with the project allowing performers and the composer to collaborate over a five-year period.
Composer Biography
Peter Maxwell Davies, the composer of these quartets, is recognized as one of the foremost composers of our time and currently holds the title of Master of the Queen's Music.
Compositional Technique
The Naxos Quartets are conceived like a novel in ten chapters, with recurring rhythmic patterns, themes, harmonic designs, magic square matrices, and architectural structures developed throughout the cycle.
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