The symphony is in B minor, though the key does not figure in the title and the tonality is not entirely conventional. It has been characterised as "focused atonality ... a new tonality without neo-classicism".[2] For example, instead of the usual dominant, F♯, throughout the symphony Davies uses E♯, a semitone lower and a tritone above the tonic—a technique used earlier by Bartók in the first movement of his Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta.[3] An additional unifying element used throughout the work is the plainsong "Nativitas tua, Dei Genitrix", a chant for the birthday of the Virgin Mary, which also happens to be the composer's birthday.[4] The symphony has been characterised as Davies's La Mer,[5] and compared, both in quality and in structure, to Vaughan Williams's Sixth Symphony.[6]
The symphony is in four movements, corresponding loosely to the traditional symphony plan:
Allegro molto – Allegro
Adagio
Allegro molto, leggiero
Adagio, flessibile – Poco più mosso – Più mosso – Moderato – Allegro
The first movement begins with an introduction presenting all of the germ cells used in the entire symphony. This is followed by a sonata-allegro, in which the usual development is replaced by a succession of transformation processes.
The second movement is in the tritone-related key of F minor. A slow theme in the cellos, presenting "an almost Elgarian demeanour"[5] is followed by four variations—called "doubles" by the composer[7]—for bassoon, horn, oboe, and trumpet.
The third movement resembles a scherzo and trio, and is in F major.
The final movement returns to the tonal centre of B. It begins as a passacaglia, recalling the finale of Brahms's Fourth Symphony only of a more episodic nature.[3] However, it gradually evolves, first into a character similar to the first movement, and then into the manner of a traditional symphonic finale.
Discography
Peter Maxwell Davies: Symphony No. 2. BBC Philharmonic, Peter Maxwell Davies (cond.). Recorded Studio 7, New Broadcasting House, Manchester, September. 1993. CD recording. Collins Classics 14032. [St Mary Cray, Orpington, Kent]: Lambourne Productions, 1994. Reissued as part of Peter Maxwell Davies: Symphony No. 2 / St. Thomas Wake. CD recording and MP3 download. Naxos 8572349. [N.p.]: Naxos, 2012.
Davies, Peter Maxwell. 1994. "Symphony No. 2". Booklet accompanying Peter Maxwell Davies: Symphony No. 2. BBC Philharmonic, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (cond.). CD recording. Collins Classics 14032. [St Mary Cray, Orpington, Kent]: Lambourne Productions Limited.
Dunnett, Roderic. 1994. Record Review: Maxwell Davies: The Lighthouse, Chamber Opera in 2 Parts by Ian Comboy; Christopher Keyte; Maxwell Davies; Neil Mackie; BBC Philharmonic; Maxwell Davies: Symphony No. 2 by BBC Philharmonic; Maxwell Davies; Maxwell Davies: Symphony No. 3 by BBC Philharmonic; Maxwell Davies. Tempo, new series, no. 191 (December): 53–54.
Károlyi, Ottó. 1994. Modern British Music: The Second British Musical Renaissance—From Elgar to P. Maxwell Davies. Rutherford, Madison, Teaneck: Farleigh Dickinson University Press; London and Toronto: Associated University Presses. ISBN0-8386-3532-6.
Whittall, Arnold. 1983. "Symphony No. 2 by Peter Maxwell Davies". Music & Letters 64, nos. 3–4 (July–October.1983): 318–320.
Further reading
Jones, Nicholas. 2002. "Peter Maxwell Davies's Basic Unifying Hypothesis: Dominant Logic". The Musical Times 143, no. 1878 (Spring): 37–45.
McGregor, Richard E. 1996. "The Maxwell Davies Sketch Material in the British Library". Tempo, new series, no. 196 (April): 9–19.
McGregor, Richard. 2000. "Max the Symphonist". In Perspectives on Peter Maxwell Davies, edited by Richard McGregor, 115–137. Aldershot Hants., Burlington Vermont, Singapore, and Sydney: Ashgate Publishing. ISBN1-84014-298-7.
Owens, Peter. 1994. "Revelation and Fallacy: Observations on Compositional Technique in the Music of Peter Maxwell Davies". Music Analysis 13, nos. 2–3 (October): 161–202.
Warnaby, John Surtees. 1991. The Music of Peter Maxwell Davies Based on the Writings of George Mackay Brown. Ph.D. diss. United Kingdom: Open University.