(Redirected from Sir Andrew Davis)
'Sir Andrew Frank Davis'
CBE (born
2 February 1944) is a
British conductor.
Davis was born in
Ashridge in
Hertfordshire and studied at the
Royal College of Music,
King's College, Cambridge where he was
Organ Scholar, and in Rome with
Franco Ferrara.
The first major post he held was as associate conductor of the
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, a job he took in 1970. In 1975, he took the job of principal conductor with the
Toronto Symphony Orchestra. He stepped down in 1988, but has remained close to the orchestra as its Conductor Laureate.
In 1988, Davis became music director at
Glyndebourne, where he met the American soprano
Gianna Rolandi, whom he later married. Davis returned to the
BBC in 1989 to become chief conductor of the
BBC Symphony Orchestra, where he held the post until 2000.
Queen Elizabeth II created Davis a
CBE in May 1992. In January 1999, she appointed him a
Knight Bachelor in the New Year Honours List. In 2002, he conducted the
Prom at the Palace concert, held in the gardens of
Buckingham Palace as part of the celebrations for the
Queen's Golden Jubilee.
Davis became the music director and principal conductor of the
Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2000. In 2005, he took on the post of Music Advisor to the
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, for a designated three-year period. In September 2006, Davis announced that he would relinquish this position with Pittsburgh.
[1]
Davis has performed quite a wide range of repertoire, though his support of contemporary British music is of particular note. He is particularly associated with
Michael Tippett, conducting the British premiere of his work ''
The Mask of Time'', and insisting on a production of ''
Midsummer Marriage'' (performed in 2005) when he joined the
Lyric Opera of Chicago. He has also made a critically acclaimed recording of
Harrison Birtwistle's
opera, ''
The Mask of Orpheus''.
References
1. Future succession to keep PSO busy Andrew Druckenbrod
External links
★
★
Sir Andrew Davis official website