Peter Maxwell Davies, 1934-2016
March 14, 2016 3:52 PM   Subscribe

One of the great composers of our time, Peter Maxwell Davies, has died. Some of his best known works include 8 Songs for a Mad King, Kommilitonen!, and 10 fantastic symphonies. The great anti-establishment composer was perhaps most well known, however, for a 2005 incident regarding eating swans that fell on his island home. Rest in peace, Max! posted by Lutoslawski (15 comments total) 14 users marked this as a favorite
 
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I bumped into him on the only pub in the north of Hoy, where he lived at the time, when I was 17. It was a decidedly downbeat place for one of the country's great composers to be, but there on the next Formica table, he was, I think celebrating the final night of a summer school, with a few of the students. I don't think he went there often. I'd walked across the island that day, dodging arctic skuas as we crossed the moors so I was tired. Which is why I knocked my pint of Guinness (served from a can, I think the pub only had 1 keg) over.
posted by ambrosen at 5:32 PM on March 14, 2016 [4 favorites]


A real loss, RIP

🎼
posted by NordyneDefenceDynamics at 5:50 PM on March 14, 2016


Oh ....

I met him once. As a young composer I admired the accessibility as well as the beauty of his music so much. A great life.

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posted by spitbull at 5:59 PM on March 14, 2016


When police called at his home he offered them swan terrine.

Anyone who would do this is a loss to the world.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:21 PM on March 14, 2016


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posted by putzface_dickman at 8:01 PM on March 14, 2016


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Splendid human!
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 8:06 PM on March 14, 2016


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posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:54 PM on March 14, 2016


Great to remember his songs tonight. RIP
posted by dagosto at 10:22 PM on March 14, 2016


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posted by threecheesetrees at 11:02 PM on March 14, 2016


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posted by Coaticass at 12:17 AM on March 15, 2016


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posted by Wrinkled Stumpskin at 1:34 AM on March 15, 2016


🎻💥
posted by fitnr at 9:53 AM on March 15, 2016


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posted by homunculus at 10:06 AM on March 15, 2016


I never met him, but I have a close friend who sings a lot of his music-- notably Miss Donnithorne's Maggot and The Medium-- and he was always very supportive of her. I also was lucky enough to be at the first London staging of his final opera, Mr Emmett Takes a Walk. And of course I love the Eight Songs; when you have a phenomenally talented singer with (crucially) no dignity whatsoever, they are like nothing else on earth.

RIP, Sir Peter. Your music was so lovely and so fucking weird.
posted by Pallas Athena at 4:40 PM on March 15, 2016 [1 favorite]


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posted by klausness at 2:05 PM on March 16, 2016


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