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