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The Magginis Premiere
Second ‘Naxos’ Quartet by Maxwell Davies
On Friday,
July 11, the Maggini Quartet debuted Naxos Quartet No.2, the second in a cycle
of ten string quartets to be composed by Peter Maxwell Davies. The quartets,
which were commissioned by leading independent label Naxos, are scheduled to be premiered and recorded at the
rate of two per year for a period of five years.
No. 2 was
performed on Friday at the Pittville Pump Room in Cheltenham, England as a part of the Cheltenham International Festival. Dedicated to British
composer Ian Kellam, a longtime musical friend of Maxwell Davies, the quartet
is in the standard four movements and is approximately 35 minutes in length. According
to Andrew Clements of The Guardian, the work is “an utterly conclusive,
utterly absorbing musical argument.” It will later be recorded and released on
the Naxos label. On Friday, the Maggini’s programme
was rounded out by Haydn’s D Major Quartet, Op. 33, No. 6, and Mozart’s “Hunt”
Quartet, K. 458.
The next
work in the series, Naxos Quartet No. 3, will be premiered in October at Wigmore
Hall, also the venue of the first performance of Naxos Quartet No. 1.
For more
information:
Naxos Quartet Premieres in London
The Maggini
Quartet
http://www.maggini.net
Peter
Maxwell Davies
http://www.maxopus.com
Keep
watching Naxos.com for Part II of “Swan Song or Song and Dance: A chronicle on
the coming fate of the world’s music ensembles.”
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