Prima Facie Records

Piano Works 1949-2009 Peter Maxwell Davies (PFCD017/18)

Sunday Times 100 Best CDs of the Year 2013: No 1 Contemporary Composers CD
Performed by Richard Casey

CD OUT OF STOCK
Available from streaming / download services

CD1

Piano Sonata (1981)
Three Sunday Pieces (2009)
Five Little pieces for Piano (1960-62/1964)
Six Secret Songs (1996)
Farewell to Stromness (1980)
Yesnaby Ground (1980)

CD2

Five Pieces for Piano, Op. 2 (1955-56)
An Orkney Tune (2001)
Snow Cloud, over Lochan (2003)
Sub Tuam Protectionem (1969)
Ut Re Mi (1970)
Stevie's Ferry to Hoy (1978)
Parade (1949)
Richard Casey/Peter Maxwell Davies interview

Reviews

"...deeply satisfying...impressive development...engrossing" The Independent

"a wonderful set of recordings and very important for fans old and new of the music of Maxwell Davies" Peter Byrom Smith

"Spanning 60 years, the music clearly shows Sir Peter's musical development from early forays into the avant-garde through to more recent, melodic versions of Scottish folk tunes. Sir Peter himself has described Casey's performances of his music as 'magnificent'. They certainly give his fascinating music the care and attention they deserve." Classic FM, July 26, 2013

"Casey - who interviews Davies on the last track - is consummately sensitive to his idioms, whether in children's items or the densely avant-garde Five Pieces, Op 2, given a searching interpretation." Paul Driver, The Sunday Times, August 11, 2013

"...the compelling and – above all, sensitive and respectful – approach and execution of Richard Casey, which is never reticent or obsequious, but privileges unadorned revelation over expansiveness, make this a CD not to be missed." Mark Sealey, Classical Net Review

"It is a worthwhile addition to your library for its pianism, its insights into the Maxwell Davies musical mind and its appreciable contribution to the modernist solo piano repertoire." Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music Review

One of the foremost composers of our time, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (1934-2016) made a significant contribution to musical history through his wide-ranging and prolific output. In a worklist that spans more than five decades, he wrote across a broad range of styles, yet his music always communicated directly and powerfully, whether in his profoundly argued symphonic works, his music-theatre or witty light orchestral works.