Andrew Davis, the eminent British conductor, has died at 80.
Davis was chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1989 to 2000, leading 12 of its iconic Last Night at the Proms evenings in London’s Royal Albert Hall, “twice delivering the customary conductor speech in the manner of the major-general in Gilbert & Sullivan’s ‘The Pirates of Penzance:’ ‘This is the very model of a modern music festival,’ ” Mark Brown writes in an obituary for The Guardian.
Davis also served as music director of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera (1988-2000), and led the orchestras of Toronto (1975-88) and Melbourne, Australia (2012-19). In the US, he was music advisor to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (2005-07) and music director of Lyric Opera of Chicago (2000-21).
Davis was a prolific recording artist, acclaimed for his discs of music by Edward Elgar, Gustav Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Michael Tippett, Harrison Birtwistle and other British composers.
Brown’s Guardian obituary:
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