Sir Peter Maxwell Davies' raspberry to the Olympics Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, the Master of the Queen's Music, is to have, if not the last word, then certainly the last note on what he regarded as the "jingoistic" and far too overtly commercial Olympic Games. It is based on the Games that the Trojans held in Sicily and draws its inspiration from Virgil's epic poem The Aeneid. One of its conceits is to have musicians competing with each other for attention. "I thought the London Games were too jingoistic and far too commercial," says Sir Peter, 78. I just felt the Olympic ideals and spirit had been adulterated by the commercialism in particular. I made my piece very tough and put some of the musical protagonists in competition with each other. If they get through it they all deserve gold medals. When I pointed out that the Queen had played her part at the opening ceremony by appearing in the James Bond film sequence, Sir Peter diplomatically adds: "I know. I am a great admirer of Her Majesty. "The Firm" was resolutely behind the Games. The only discordant note came when Mark Shand, the Prince of Wales's brother-in-law, admitted to me in July that he intended to get out of London for the duration. "The Diamond Jubilee was such a wonderful celebration of Britishness, but there is nothing British about the Olympics," he said.