Sad news: Film composer Carl Davis died today
RIPThe family have circulated this message:
CARL DAVIS CBE
(1936-2023)
We are heartbroken to announce that Carl Davis CBE passed away this
morning, following a brain haemorrhage.
We are so proud that Carl’s legacy will be his astonishing impact on
music. A consummate all-round musician, he was the driving force
behind the reinvention of the silent movie for this generation and he
wrote scores for some of the most loved and remembered British
television dramas. He was a conductor and composer of symphonic
works, as well as a notable writer for the ballet.
In 2005 he was awarded a CBE (Hon).
A beloved Father, Grandfather and Husband, Carl married the actress
Jean Boht in 1970. They have two daughters, Hannah and Jessie and
three grandchildren, Molly, Fred and Alice.
The family would like to send their grateful thanks to the paramedics
who assisted Carl and the Neurological ICU Team at the John Radcliffe
Hospital in Oxford.
Carl wrote many film and TV scores. He also collaborated with Paul McCartney on Liverpool Oratorio and served for a while as principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic.
Brooklyn born, Carl first came to England to work on the satirical TV show That Was the Week That Was.
The films he scored include The Bofors Gun (1968), Up Pompeii (1971), The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981), Scandal (1989), The Great Gatsby (2000), Mothers & Daughters (2004) and The Understudy (2008).
On television he received greatest exposure with a score for the Jeremy Isaacs series, The World at War.
photo: Trevor Leighton
UPDATE: The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic remembers Carl here.
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