Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, the former enfant terrible, who, in his later years, served for a decade in the ultimate Establishment post as Master of the Queen’s Music, died of leukemia on March 14th. He was recognized as one of the leading British composers of his generation.
Max made his home in the Orkney Islands, off the northern coast of Scotland, for the last 45 years of his life. Though he composed in a multiplicity of forms and styles, many of his most attractive and deeply felt works were inspired by the austere seascapes churning outside his cottage and the Celtic folk traditions of his adopted land.
September 8th would have been Max’s 82nd birthday. Tomorrow morning on WPRB, I’ll honor the composer with a number of representative works drawn from his prodigious output.
Since five hours of uninterrupted Maxwell Davies could very well push anyone over the edge, especially when it comes to his more challenging works, I’ll mix things up a bit by interpolating music by other composers who hailed from Scotland, were of Scottish descent, or just plain loved to visit.
The Scotch will be on the rocks, as we travel from the Highlands to the Orkney Islands, tomorrow morning from 6 to 11 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.org. It will be more appetizing than a plate full of haggis, on Classic Ross Amico.
