Andrew Davis (conductor)
Andrew Davis | |
---|---|
Davis, c. 1987 | |
Born | Andrew Frank Davis 2 February 1944 Ashridge, Hertfordshire, England |
Died | 20 April 2024 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | (aged 80)
Occupation | Conductor |
Spouse | |
Children | 1 |
Sir Andrew Frank Davis CBE (2 February 1944 – 20 April 2024) was an English conductor. He was the longtime chief conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. He was music director at the Glyndebourne Festival from 1988 to 2000, and especially known for conducting the traditional Last Night of The Proms, including Last Night speeches. He was music director and principal conductor of the Lyric Opera of Chicago from 2000 to the 2020/21 season.
Music critic Alan Blyth described Davis as "a conductor whose technical skill was enhanced by an inborn enthusiasm for and dedication to the task in hand that he was able to transfer to the forces before him."[1]
Early life and education
Andrew Frank Davis was born on 2 February 1944, in Ashridge, Hertfordshire, England.[1][2] His parents were Robert J. Davis and his wife Florence Joyce (née Badminton), Davis grew up in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, and in Watford.[3] He attended Watford Boys' Grammar School, where he studied Classics in his sixth form years. His adolescent musical work included playing the organ at the Palace Theatre, Watford.[3]
Davis studied at the Royal College of Music and King's College, Cambridge, where he was an organ scholar, graduating in 1967.[1][4] He later studied conducting in Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Rome, with Franco Ferrara.[1]
Career
Davis' first major post was as associate conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, beginning in 1970. In 1975, he became music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO). He held the post until 1988, and then took the title of Conductor Laureate with the TSO.[5]
In 1988 Davis became music director at Glyndebourne. In 1989 he married his third wife, the American soprano Gianna Rolandi (1952–2021), whom he had met while conducting at the Metropolitan Opera in 1984.[6] At Glyndebourne he conducted operas such as Janácek's The Makropulos Case, Rossini's Le comte Ory and Alban Berg's Lulu.[7] Davis concluded his Glyndebourne tenure in 2000. In 1989, Sir John Drummond appointed Davis as chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO).[8] During his BBC SO tenure, Davis restored the tradition established by Malcolm Sargent of the chief conductor of the BBC SO conducting the Last Night of The Proms. He was noted for his humorous Last Night speeches, including giving two speeches after the Major-General's patter song from The Pirates of Penzance,[3][9] but he also more seriously addressed the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales, Mother Teresa, and Sir Georg Solti in his 1997 Last Night speech.[10] Davis stepped down as chief conductor of BBC SO in 2000 and from then held the title of Conductor Laureate of the orchestra.[11]
In May 1992, Davis was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and in the 1999 New Year Honours he was appointed a Knight Bachelor.[11] 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.[12]
Davis became music director and principal conductor of the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2000. His work in Chicago included his first conducting of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle in 2005[13] and the first Chicago production of Michael Tippett's The Midsummer Marriage.[14] His Lyric Opera of Chicago tenure ended at the close of the 2020–2021 season.[15]
In 2005 Davis became Music Advisor to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, for a designated three-year period. In September 2006, he announced that he would relinquish this position with Pittsburgh after the 2007–2008 season.[16] In October 2007, Davis and the orchestra mutually agreed to terminate his contract early and for him not to conduct his scheduled Pittsburgh Symphony concerts in the 2007–2008 season, because of increased demands on his schedule.[17] Outside of the United States, in June 2012, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra named Davis its chief conductor, effective in January 2013, with an initial contract of 4 years.[18] In July 2015, the MSO extended Davis' contract through 2019.[19] Davis concluded his MSO chief conductorship in December 2019.[20]
Davis performed a wide range of repertoire, with a particular focus on British composers, such as Michael Tippett,[21] including the British premiere of his work The Mask of Time. Davis recorded for a number of labels, including NMC Recordings, Teldec and Deutsche Grammophon.[22] He also made a critically acclaimed recording of Harrison Birtwistle's opera, The Mask of Orpheus.[23]
Personal life and death
Davis and his wife Gianna Rolandi resided in Chicago.[4] They married in 1989 and their marriage lasted until her death in 2021.[24] Their son Edward Frazier Davis, born in 1989, is a composer and a graduate of Knox College.[25]
Davis died from leukemia in Chicago, on 20 April 2024, at the age of 80.[4][26][27]
Recordings
- Frederica von Stade – Mahler Songs, Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn and Rückert-Lieder, with Frederica von Stade and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Columbia, 1978[28]
- Handel: Messiah, with Kathleen Battle, Florence Quivar, John Aler, Samuel Ramery and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, EMI, 1987.[29]
Videos
- Glyndebourne Festival Opera: A Gala Evening (1992), with Kim Begley, Montserrat Caballé, Cynthia Haymon, Felicity Lott, Benjamin Luxon, Ruggero Raimondi, Frederica von Stade and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Arthaus Musik[30]
References
- ^ a b c d Blyth, Alan Blyth (2002) [2001]. "Davis, Sir Andrew". Grove Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.07304. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
- ^ International Who's Who in Classical Music. Vol. 19. Europa Publications. 2003. p. 176. ISBN 978-1-8574-3174-2.
- ^ a b c Walsh, John (13 September 1997). "Conductor of hope and glory". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
- ^ a b c Nanji, Noor (21 April 2024). "Sir Andrew Davis: BBC Proms conductor dies aged 80". BBC. Archived from the original on 21 April 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ Littler, William (8 May 2015). "The TSO's Englishman in Toronto". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 18 August 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
- ^ "Obituary: Gianna Rolandi Davis". Donnellan Family Funeral Services, Tribute Archive. June 2021. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ Whitley, John (28 June 1997). "Does he have what it takes?". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
- ^ Burton, Humphrey (8 September 2006). "Obituary: Sir John Drummond". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
- ^ Cannadine, David (May 2008). "The 'Last Night of the Proms' in historical perspective". Historical Research. 81 (212): 315–349. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2281.2008.00466.x.
- ^ Cowan, Robert; Seckerson, Edward (15 September 1997). "Last Saturday saw the Last Night of the Proms and the first night of the Royal Opera's exile at the Barbican. Robert Cowan and Edward Seckerson were at the respective venues...". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 26 January 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
- ^ a b "Andrew Davis / Conductor Laureate". BBC. 2024. Archived from the original on 21 April 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ "Sonniger Klassik-Auftakt zum Golden Jubilee". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). 2 June 2002. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ Kettle, Martin (7 April 2005). "Der Ring des Nibelungen (Lyric Opera, Chicago)". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 18 August 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
- ^ Westwood, Matthew (21 August 2009). "Davis's baton change". The Australian. ProQuest 356665245. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ "Sir Andrew Davis' Australian Appointment". Classic FM. 17 June 2012. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
- ^ Druckenbrod, Andrew (29 September 2006). "Future succession to keep PSO busy". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on 23 December 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2007.
- ^ Druckenbrod, Andrew (27 October 2007). "Davis backs out of PSO concerts". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on 23 December 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2007.
- ^ "Sir Andrew Davis announced as Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chief Conductor" (Press release). Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. 18 June 2012. Archived from the original on 27 March 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
- ^ "Chief Conductor Sir Andrew Davis to lead the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra until 2019" (Press release). Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. 27 July 2015. Archived from the original on 11 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ^ McPherson, Angus (10 April 2018). "Sir Andrew Davis to step down from Melbourne Symphony Orchestra". Limelight. Archived from the original on 18 August 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ^ Cairns, David (March 1998). "Images of beauty: Michael Tippett 1905–1998". The Musical Times. 139 (1861): 4–5. Archived from the original on 8 May 2002. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
- ^ Ashley, Tim (23 February 2007). "Chopin: Piano Concerto No 1; Liszt: Piano Concerto No 1, Li/ Philharmonia/ Davis". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 18 August 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
- ^ "Birtwistle". BBC Music Magazine. Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
- ^ Bordello, Enzo (20 June 2021). "Gianna Rolandi 1952-2021". Parterre Box. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
- ^ Wright-Pryor, Barbara (16 June 2012). "Sir Andrew Davis receives honorary degree from Knox College". The Chicago Crusader. Archived from the original on 14 April 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
- ^ Brown, Mark (21 April 2024). "Sir Andrew Davis, ex-chief conductor of BBC Symphony Orchestra, dies aged 80". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 April 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ Chris Jones (21 April 2024). "Conductor Andrew Davis, music director emeritus of Lyric Opera, dies at 80". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 22 April 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ Forsling, Göran (June 2011). "Gustav Mahler (1860–1911) / Songs". musicweb-international.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ Hugill, Robert (February 2009). "George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) / Messiah". musicweb-international.com. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ Rohan, Mscott (May 2004). "Glynbourne Festival Opera – A Gala Evening". Gramophone. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
External links
- Official website
- Andrew Davis discography at Discogs
- Andrew Davis at AllMusic
- Andrew Davis at IMDb
- Two interviews with Sir Andrew Davis, on WNIB Classical 97, Chicago, 8 November 1993 & 30 October 2000
- Sir Andrew Davis – Back in the pit (Glyndebourne, 2012) on YouTube
- 1944 births
- 2024 deaths
- People educated at Watford Grammar School for Boys
- Alumni of King's College, Cambridge
- Alumni of the Royal College of Music
- Angel Records artists
- ARIA Award winners
- BBC Symphony Orchestra
- English classical organists
- Organ Scholars of King's College, Cambridge
- English conductors (music)
- English male conductors (music)
- Music directors (opera)
- Glyndebourne Festival Opera
- Knights Bachelor
- Conductors (music) awarded knighthoods
- Musicians from Hertfordshire
- People of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
- Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
- Juno Award for Classical Album of the Year – Vocal or Choral Performance winners
- 21st-century British conductors (music)
- 21st-century organists
- English male classical organists
- Deaths from leukemia in Illinois