Maxwell Davies: new string trio at St Magnus Festival
(June 2008)
A new String Trio by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies is premiered at St Magnus Cathedral on 23 June by the Hebrides Ensemble. The work was commissioned jointly by the Hebrides Ensemble, St Magnus Festival and the City of London Festival.The new work is cast in a single 15-minute continuous movement and the composer has incorporated elements drawn from traditional Orkney fiddle music: "I have alternated quick music, based on the reel, and slow music, based on the slow air – and, while taking liberties with the rhythmic articulations, and extending the traditional harmonies into regions where they don’t usually venture, I have been careful to preserve what I hope remain audible and meaningful frames of reference."
Having founded the St Magnus Festival in 1977, Maxwell Davies has retained close links with the festival and a number of works are featured in addition to the premiere of the new String Trio. His chamber opera The Martyrdom of St Magnus opened the first festival, and the work returns to the saint's own cathedral this year in a new staging by Ben Twist, performed on 25 June by the Hebrides Ensemble conducted by William Conway. This production can also be seen on 18 June in Inverness and 21 June in Edinburgh.
For further information visit the St Magnus Festival website.
Maxwell Davies's music is also featured at this year's Cheltenham Festival (including a BBC Radio 3 feature on Eight Songs for A Mad King on 9 July) and Dartington International Summer School (including Strathclyde Concerto No.3 on 23 August).
> Further information on Work: String Trio
Photo: John Batten
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