Symphony No. 6 (Davies)
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| Symphony No. 6 | |
|---|---|
| by Peter Maxwell Davies | |
 The composer in 2012 | |
| Dedication | George Mackay Brown |
| Movements | 3 |
| Premiere | |
| Date | 22 June 1996 |
| Location | St Magnus Festival, Kirkwall |
| Conductor | Peter Maxwell Davies |
| Performers | Royal Philharmonic Orchestra |
The Symphony No. 6 by Peter Maxwell Davies was composed in Hoy during the first half of 1996, and was premiered on 22 June of the same year in the Phoenix Cinema, Kirkwall, as part of the twentieth St Magnus Festival, Orkney, by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by the composer. The work was written with specific members of the RPO in mind, and is dedicated to the memory of the poet George Mackay Brown, who died on the day the symphony was completed.
The symphony sets out at the beginning from a slow Australian aboriginal tune, as reworked in Davies's Time and the Raven, composed the previous year, and returns to it at the end. Over the course of the symphony this theme is subjected to continual transformations.[1] As with many of Davies's works from the time of the First Symphony onward, the Sixth Symphony establishes its own set of harmonic rules, with its own "tonics" and "dominants".[2]
Instrumentation
The symphony is scored for piccolo, two flutes (2nd doubling alto flute), two oboes, cor anglais, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, double bassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, five percussionists (playing glockenspiel, crotales, marimba, two wood blocks, tambourine, side drum, two bass drums, two suspended cymbals, crash cymbals, rain sticks), harp, celesta, and strings.
