Kevin Sutton asked:

>By the way, I heard a rumor that Naxos was buying up at least the Maxwell
>Davies portion of Collins' catalogue and will be reissuing it.  Along with
>that they have allegedly commissioned a new set of string quartets to cap
>the venture.  Is this true? Anyone know the lowdown?

The following was published on the Naxos site some time ago:

*Naxos calls the tune for Maxwell Davies (David Ward, Excerpts from The
Guardian, March 25, 2000):

   In a project believed to be unique in recording history, the world's
   leading bargain classical CD label has commissioned the British
   composer, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, to write a series of 10 string
   quartets. The first of five Naxos CDs - two quartets on each 4.99
   disc - is expected to be issued in 2002 and the series should be
   complete within five years. Each work will be given its world premiere
   on CD in advance of its first public performance. "I'm thrilled to
   bits," said Sir Peter yesterday at his home on the island of Sanday
   on Orkney. "The quartets will be accessible all over the place at a
   reasonable price." The works will be known as the Naxos quartets.
   Klaus Heymann, the Hong Kong-based founder of the bargain label whose
   discs regularly take up places in the classical top 20, said: "Sir
   Peter's management team approached us and said they were very keen
   on bringing his music to a wider audience. I thought it was a great
   idea." Instead of a commission fee, Sir Peter will receive advanced
   royalties on each disc sold. He said he hoped to complete the first
   two quartets by the end of the year.  Sir Peter is used to bulk
   production: between 1986 and 1996, he wrote his 10 Strathclyde
   concertos for the Scottish chamber orchestra.  His return to the
   classical quartet will cause almost as much of a stir as his decision
   to turn to the symphony in 1976 after 10 years as an enfant terrible
   in which he wrote such works as Eight Songs For A Mad King and Vesalii
   Icones as well scores for Ken Russell's films The Devils and The Boy
   Friend.  His only significant work in the quartet form is a 13-minute
   piece dating from 1961. "I have been writing orchestral pieces solidly
   for 10 years. Now I'm desperate to get on with some chamber music.
   The appeal of the medium is in its concentration.  "There is no scope
   for padding - you have to make them as crystalline and clear as you
   can," he said.*

Achim Breiling