Andrew Davis (conductor)

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. Previously he attended Watford Boys' Grammar School. He studied classics in his sixth form years. He worked closely with the school orchestra.

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 after the 2007-2008 season. [cite news | url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06272/725916-42.stm | title=Future succession to keep PSO busy | work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | author=Andrew Druckenbrod | date=2006-09-29 | accessdate=2007-04-28] 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 Davis' schedule. [cite news | url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07300/828842-42.stm | title=Davis backs out of PSO concerts | work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | author=Andrew Druckenbrod | date=2007-10-27 | accessdate=2007-10-27]

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 "The 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

External links

*allmusic|41:75808
* [http://www.sirandrewdavis.com/ Sir Andrew Davis official website]