Symphony No. 10 (Davies)

The Symphony No. 10 (Alla ricerca di Borromini), op. 327, is a composition for orchestra, chorus, and baritone soloist, composed by Peter Maxwell Davies, in 2013. It was premiered on 2 February 2014 at the Barbican Hall in London, by the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, with baritone soloist Markus Butter, conducted by Antonio Pappano (Davies 2014).

History

The symphony was written on a joint commission from the London Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra (Davies 2014). Davies wrote much of the piece in University College Hospital, London whilst undergoing treatment for leukemia (Service 2014).

Character and materials

The symphony concerns the life and death of a leading figure of Roman Baroque architecture in the 17th century, Francesco Borromini (who also inspired Davies's Naxos Quartet No. 7), and his rivalry with Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The symphony is in four parts: Part One: Adagio, Part Two: Allegro, Part Three: Presto, Part Four: Adagio. Part Two incorporates settings of an anonymous 17th century sonnet to Borromini and parts of the Opus Architectonicum by Borromini himself; Part Four contains settings of poetry by Giacomo Leopardi (Davies 2014; Austin 2014). It is an approachable, substantial work, written for a large orchestra especially characterised by the use of low woodwind and brass, and by a large percussion section (six players) featuring metallic instruments: bells, gongs, flexatone, crotales, temple bowl, amongst others (Maddocks 2014).

Discography

• Sir Peter Maxwell Davies: Symphony No. 10. Markus Butter, baritone; Simon Halsey; London Symphony Orchestra; Sir Antonio Pappano, cond. Recorded February 2014, Barbican, London. LSO Live LSO0267. Digital only.

References

• Austin, Christopher. 2014. "Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (b 1934): Symphony No 10: Alla ricerca di Borromini (World Premiere) (2013–14)". London Symphony Orchestra Programme Notes (Thursday 30 January & Sunday 2 February): 14–15. lso.co.uk (Accessed 31 January 2014).
• Cole, William. 2014. "Peter Maxwell Davies's Symphony No. 10, LSO and Chorus, Barbican Centre, London". Tempo 68, no. 269 (July): 69–70.
• Davies, Peter Maxwell. 2014. "London Symphony Orchestra Gives the World Premiere of Maxwell Davies' Symphony No. 10". Maxopus.com (January) (Accessed 26 January 2014).
• Maddocks, Fiona. 2014. "Don Giovanni; LSO/Pappano: Peter Maxwell Davies Symphony No. 10: review". The Observer (Saturday 8 February).
• Russell, Jonathan. 2014. "The LSO Give a Moving Première of Peter Maxwell Davies' Tenth Symphony". Bachtrack.com (accessed 16 July 2014).
• Service, Tom. 2014. "Peter Maxwell Davies's Tenth Symphony: The Story Behind His New Work". The Guardian (31 January). Also at theguardian.com (Accessed 31 January 2014).

External links

• "Peter Maxwell Davies on His Tenth Symphony". BBC News (accessed 3 February 2014).