Peter Maxwell Davies(1934-2016)
- Music Department
- Composer
- Writer
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies is one of the leading composers of his
generation. After early study at Manchester University, he pursued
additional compositional study with Goffredo Petrassi in Rome and as a
Harkness Fellow at Princeton University under Roger Sessions and Earl
Kim. He has written hundreds of works in nearly every form which have
and continue to be performed around the world. He was, for many years,
the artistic director of "The Fires of London", a virtuoso chamber
ensemble specializing in the performance of musical theatre works. His
best known composition ("Eight Songs for a Mad King" (1969)) was
written for this ensemble. He began writing orchestral music
extensively in the late 1970's and the 1980's and 1990's have produced
a huge number of orchestral compositions: including 8 symphonies,
concerti, cantatas, and many other shorter orchestral works. He has
received countless honors for his work including a knighthood. His work
in film consists of two film scores for director Ken Russell.