Peter Maxwell Davies prepares musical retort to Olympics

2 October 2012, 10:19

The Master of the Queen's Music, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, has disclosed details of his new work, which is a reaction to the "jingoistic" tone of the Olympic Games.

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies has hit out at the London 2012 Olympic Games, describing them as "jingoistic and far too commercial." The comments come as he prepares his own musical retort to the games, an opera called The Trojan Games.

The work is based on the titular games that originate in Sicily. However, rather than sporting prowess, the athletes in these games compete for attention, with Davies drawing inspiration from Virgil's The Aeneid.

The composer also commented: "It is a problem with too much of life at the moment, but I was saddened to see it infect the Games to the extent that it did." Speaking about his reasons for the new composition, he added: "I decided to write my own response, which I felt was more about the true ideals of the Olympic movement."

The new work is due to be given its premiere performance by the Mauro Ceccanti ensemble in Florence next May.