Davis, Sir Andrew (Frank)

Davis, Sir Andrew (Frank) , esteemed English conductor; b. Ashridge, Hertfordshire, Feb. 2, 1944. He studied piano at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and after taking organ lessons with Peter Hurford and Piet Kee, was an organ scholar at King’s Coll., Cambridge (1963–67). He then received instruction in conducting from Franco Ferrara at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome. Following a successful guest conducting engagement with the BBC Sym. Orch. in London in 1970, he served as asst. conductor of the BBC Scottish Sym. Orch. in Glasgow until 1973, making his debut as an opera conductor that same year at the Glyndebourne Festival. He was assoc. conductor of the New Philharmonia Orch. in London (1973–75) and principal guest conductor of the Royal Liverpool Phil. (1974–76). In 1974 he made his North American debut as a guest conductor with the Detroit Sym. Orch. He then was music director of the Toronto Sym. (1975–88), which, under his guidance, acquired a fine international reputation via major tours of North America, Europe, the People’s Republic of China, and Japan. In 1982 he inaugurated the orch/s new home, the Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, in a gala concert. After completing his tenure, he served as the orch/s conductor laureate from 1988 to 1990. In 1988 he was named chief conductor of the BBC Sym. Orch. in London and music director of the Glyndebourne Festival. He left these positions in 2000 to become music director of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. However, he retained his association with the BBC Sym. Orch. as its first conductor laureate from 2000. His third marriage was to Gianna Rolandi. In 1992 he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He was knighted in 1999. His vast repertoire encompasses works from virtually every era, all of which display his wide sympathies, command of technique, and musical integrity

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire