Maxwell Davies: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5

The orchestra used by Peter Maxwell Davies for his Fourth Symphony is of Classical period proportions, but this relatively compact framework belies a richness of ideas and sonorities. With its starting point in the tone poem Chat Moss, the single-movement Fifth Symphony utilizes a more varied orchestral palette than its predecessor, with a large percussion section often in evidence. Both works are performed here by the orchestras for which they were written. The First Symphony can be heard on 8572348, the Second Symphony on 8572349, and the Third Symphony on 8572350.