Sir Andrew Davis
One of the leading conductors from the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Andrew Davis conducted symphonic and operatic repertory with equal distinction and received praise for his performances of the music of British composers, particularly the works of Vaughan Williams, Elgar, and especially Michael Tippett. Davis was the conductor laureate of the Toronto, BBC, and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras.
Davis was born on February 2, 1944, in Ashridge, Hertfordshire, England. He took to the keyboard early on, and his first serious studies came with his enrollment at the Royal College of Music in London, followed by further instruction at King's College, Cambridge, where he excelled in organ performance and scholarship. The young Davis was gradually drawn toward conducting, studying at Rome's Academy of St. Cecilia with Franco Ferrara. His first major position came in 1970 when he was appointed associate conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, a post he held for two years.
Davis' ascent toward international recognition came quickly in the years that followed: he became the principal guest conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in 1974 and the following year was appointed music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. During his 13-year tenure in Toronto, Davis led many successful tours abroad and made a series of celebrated recordings, including those of Handel's Messiah with soloists Florence Quivar, Kathleen Battle, and Samuel Ramey, and Janácek's Taras Bulba and The Cunning Little Vixen Suite. When he left the Toronto Symphony in 1988, it is generally agreed that Davis had noticeably improved the ensemble and greatly enhanced its international reputation. He became the conductor laureate of the Toronto Symphony when he stepped down.
In 1988, Davis accepted the directorship of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The following year, Davis married soprano Gianna Rolandi, to whom he was married until her death in 2021; the couple had one son, Edward, born in 1989. That year, Davis was appointed chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. With the BBC Symphony, he led successful tours abroad, including to Hong Kong, the U.S., and three excursions to Japan. Davis' recordings with the BBC Symphony included a variety of works from various periods, but among contemporary composers, he tended to favor the British, issuing recordings of compositions by Harrison Birtwistle (The Mask of Orpheus), David Sawer (Byrnan Wood), and others. In the 1990s, Davis also gave concerts and made recordings with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, and several others. In addition, he conducted operatic performances at the Metropolitan Opera, the San Francisco Opera, and the Bavarian State Opera, where his rendition of Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes was critically acclaimed.
In 1999, Davis was knighted, and in 2000, he departed his BBC Symphony Orchestra and Glyndebourne posts. He then accepted the appointment of music director and principal conductor of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Davis' performances in Chicago included Wagner's Ring Cycle, Massenet's Thaïs (with Renée Fleming), and Michael Tippett's The Midsummer Marriage. During this time, Davis was heard on a number of recordings, including The Very Best of Thomas Hampson (2005), The Last Night of the Proms (2008), and 100 Best Tenor Arias (2009).
Davis was the chief conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra from 2013 until 2019, leading that group in a three-volume series of the orchestral works of Charles Ives. He served as conductor laureate for the BBC Symphony and Melbourne Symphony after leaving his chief conductor posts. In 2016, Davis led the Toronto Symphony on a recording of his arrangement of Handel's Messiah on Chandos. Davis recorded prolifically throughout the 2010s and into the 2020s as an exclusive artist with Chandos; among these recordings is a survey of Eugene Goossens' orchestral works with the Melbourne Symphony, the third volume of which was issued in 2020. That year, he was also heard on a performance of Massenet's Thais, leading the Toronto Symphony. His tenure with the Lyric Opera concluded in 2021, and he was succeeded by Enrique Mazzola. That year, Davis conducted the London Symphony on a recording of Robert Simpson's Symphony No. 5. Davis was diagnosed with leukemia in 2022 and died on April 20, 2024.
© TiVo Staff /TiVo
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Berlioz: Roméo et Juliette, Marche troyenne & Chasse royale et orage
Kantaten (weltlich) - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.09.2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tasmin Little Plays British Violin Concertos
Tasmin Little, Sir Andrew Davis, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Instrumentalmusik - Erschienen bei Chandos am 13.11.2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique & Fantaisie sur la Tempête de Shakespeare
Sir Andrew Davis, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir
Symphonien - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.07.2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Berlioz: Overtures
Sir Andrew Davis, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphonien - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.02.2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tallis: Spem in Alium
Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Cambridge University Musical Society Chorus, John Langdon, Sir Andrew Davis, Sir David Willcocks
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 01.01.1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz: L'enfance du Christ, Op. 25
Geistliche Oratorien - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.03.2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Elgar: The Crown of India, Imperial March, Empire March & Coronation March
Intermezzi - Erschienen bei Chandos am 17.11.2009
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Liszt & Chopin: Piano Concertos No.1 (Bonus track version; e-album)
Yundi Li, Philharmonia Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
Klassik - Erschienen bei Deutsche Grammophon (DG) am 01.01.2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Enchanted Loom: Orchestral Works by Carl Vine
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
Klassik - Erschienen bei ABC Classic am 24.06.2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms - Piano Concertos
Stephen Hough, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
Klassik - Erschienen bei Parlophone UK am 01.01.1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Le Messie
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics (Parlophone) am 01.01.1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Takemitsu: I Hear The Water Dreaming; Toward The Sea I/II/III
Patrick Gallois, Fabrice Pierre, Göran Söllscher, Pierre Henri Xuereb, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
Klassik - Erschienen bei Deutsche Grammophon (DG) am 01.01.2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Delius: Double Concerto, Violin Concerto & Cello Concerto
Tasmin Little, Paul Watkins, Sir Andrew Davis, BBC Symphony Orchestra
Instrumentalmusik - Erschienen bei Chandos am 06.10.2011
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Soprano (Bonus Track)
Nicole Cabell, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 01.01.2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 15
Stephen Hough, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 01.01.1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Elgar: The Music Makers & The Spirit of England
Sir Andrew Davis, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Dame Sarah Connolly, Andrew Staples, BBC Symphony Chorus
Chorwerk (für den Chor) - Erschienen bei Chandos am 16.05.2000
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Enigma Variations, In the South, Serenade For Strings
Sir Andrew Davis, Philharmonia Orchestra
Klassik - Erschienen bei Signum Records am 01.06.2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius & Sea Pictures
Sir Andrew Davis, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Stuart Skelton, David Soar, Dame Sarah Connolly, BBC Symphony Chorus
Geistliche Oratorien - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.10.2014
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Soprano
Nicole Cabell, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 27.06.2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Delius in Norway
Sir Andrew Davis, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Ann-Helen Moen
Symphonien - Erschienen bei Chandos am 07.01.2014
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo