But when you get a bit older, and I hate to use the word, quite a bit more established, people take more notice and conducting becomes a great deal easier. You don't have battles like you had before.

He later abandoned his plans. On 13 October 2009 his string sextet The Last Island was performed for the first time by the Nash Ensemble at Wigmore Hall in a 75th birthday concert for the composer. Fragments of plainsong are often used as basic source material to be adapted and developed in various ways.

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies CBE (born 8 September 1934) is an English composer and conductor and is currently Master of the Queen's Music.