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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Sergei Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances * The Isle of the Dead
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
Klassik - Erschienen bei Fazer Records - Finlandia am 01.12.1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Richard Strauss: An Alpine Symphony / Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
Klassik - Erschienen bei ABC Classic am 02.02.2018
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Goossens: Orchestral Works, Vol. 3
Sir Andrew Davis, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Tasmin Little
Symphonien - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.01.2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Birtwistle: Panic / Earth Dances
John Harle, Paul Clarvis, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis, The Cleveland Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnányi
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 01.01.1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bliss: The Beatitudes, Introduction and Allegro & God Save the Queen
Sir Andrew Davis, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Emily Birsan, Ben Johnson, BBC Symphony Chorus, David Temple
Kantaten (weltlich) - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.02.2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 83
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 -
Jubilate - Music for The Kings & Queens of England
John Radcliffe Williams, Sir Andrew Davis, Marie Goossens, Chapel Royal Choir, Hurwitz Chamber Ensemble, Philip Jones Brass Ensemble
Chorwerk (für den Chor) - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.09.1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel : Messiah Highlights
Sir Andrew Davis, Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics (Parlophone) am 01.01.1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz: Harold en Italie, Intrata di Rob-Roy MacGregor & Rêverie et Caprice
Sir Andrew Davis, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, James Ehnes
Symphonien - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.05.2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Birtwistle: The Triumph of Time
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Boulez, Sir Andrew Davis
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 28.05.2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grainger: Works for Large Chorus and Orchestra
Sir Andrew Davis, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Chamber Choir, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus
Chorwerk (für den Chor) - Erschienen bei Chandos am 02.04.2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Goossens: Orchestral Works
Sir Andrew Davis, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Symphonien - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.03.2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ives: Orchestral Works, Vol. 3
Sir Andrew Davis, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus
Symphonien - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.03.2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Janácek : Sinfonietta; Ballad of Blanek; Fiddler's Child; Taras Bulba
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
Klassik - Erschienen bei Fazer Records - Finlandia am 11.09.1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rosenberg : Orpheus In Town, Symphony No.3 & Louisville Concerto
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
Klassik - Erschienen bei Fazer Records - Finlandia am 30.09.1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Serenade
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
Klassik - Erschienen bei Fazer Records - Finlandia am 30.09.1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Messiah - Highlights
Klassik - Erschienen bei Angel Records am 01.01.1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Elgar: The Starlight Express
Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Elin Manahan Thomas, Roderick Williams, Simon Callow
Intermezzi - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.11.2012
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Elgar: Scenes from the Saga of King Olaf & The Banner of Saint George
Kantaten (weltlich) - Erschienen bei Chandos am 24.02.2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Concerti Grossi, Op. 6 Nos. 7–11
Thurston Dart, Sir Andrew Davis, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Klassik - Erschienen bei Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. am 01.01.1968
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
V (Live at Hamer Hall, Melbourne 2018)
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
Klassik - Erschienen bei ABC Classic am 17.06.2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo