Friends remember Sir Andrew Davis
RIPSakari Oramo: ‘Remembering with greatest respect and admiration everything Sir Andrew Davis did for music, and particularly for dear @BBCSO over many decades. Always with distinction and kindness.’
Stephen Maddock: ‘have so many happy memories of working with Sir Andrew at the BBC Proms in the 1990s. It was always quite a challenge to sort out his diary, as he was Glyndebourne Music Director at the same time. But we always managed, and there was so many magnificent concerts in that era. Fantastic Strauss, Messiaen, Tchaikovsky, Berg and Mahler alongside so many premieres and his important work on British music. He was a great musician and a very kind man. ‘
Stuart Skelton: I am beyond saddened by the death of Sir Andrew Davis. Some very fond memories of Elgar with him and @BBCSO and many concerts in Melbourne with @MelbSymphony. Each rehearsal or performance ending with the magical appearance of a Negroni and sneaking off for a cheeky ciggie. Vale, good Sir. Ruhe, ruhe du Gott. RIP Sir Andrew Davis (1944-2024).
Dame Sarah Connolly: ‘Terribly saddened to hear about Sir Andrew Davis. I can’t use the word ‘dead’ because in my memory he’s hale & hearty, self-deprecating & humble, smart, funny, super-sharp musically and I’m grateful the Fates allowed us to work together when I was a BBC Singer, a Glyndebourne chorister and later in many Elgar, Tippett, Strauss & Britten collaborations. Sir Andrew’s wish was to make things EASIER for his musicians and that takes great kindness, a deep soul and no arrogance’.
Alice Coote: ‘Sir Andrew Davis.. perspicacious of art and wit, a huge heart and soul resulting in egoless music making. I loved my times with him and music and am so grateful. A shocking and devastating loss to our world. I mourn and send much love to his family and friends.’
Sir David McVicar: ‘I loved Andrew. Very, very sad news. We will all miss him.’
Renee Fleming: ‘I’m saddened by the passing of the great Sir Andrew Davis, the last of a breed. He was a consummate musician, incredibly versatile, and a phenomenal colleague as well. He was that truly rare conductor who does everything superbly. His command across centuries of music and every possible style was just amazing– from something as epic as the Ring Cycle to the most sophisticated operetta– from the delicate textures of Strauss to the drama of Verdi. Especially gratifying to me, he understood the voice, and how to support it in an opera. But his performances of orchestra showpieces are legendary, too.
It was my great honor to perform with Sir Andrew all over the world, in London, New York, Barcelona, and even as far away as Australia. But it was at Lyric Opera of Chicago, where we both found an artistic home, that we most often collaborated. I was fortunate to have Sir Andrew at the podium for so many favorite performances there, as well as concerts with extraordinary singers like Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Jonas Kaufman. And it was rewarding to collaborate with him on unforgettable projects like the world premiere of Bel Canto.
And for me, one of Andrew’s primary qualities was his innate happiness. He was gifted with an infectious joy that somehow came through in every bar of music he made.’
Leonard Slatkin: ‘This is so sad. A wonderful human being who brought that humanity to his music making.’
Dame Anne Evans: ‘I wonder if you could post this Prelude and Liebestod from the 1997 Last Night of the Proms. For me his conducting of it was one of the most inspiring and profound experiences of my life.’
György Pauk: I was the soloist at his debut concert in London. I think we played the Berg Violin Concerto. He was a wonderful man and excellent conductor.’
Tasmin Little: ‘Totally heartbroken to hear of the death of Andrew Davis. So many memories of performances all over the world, recording sessions & numerous hilarious meals. Irreplaceable musician whom I will miss always.’
Julian Lloyd Webber: ‘Sad to learn of the death of Sir Andrew Davis. A great musician who was wonderful with his soloists. I treasure the memory of a lovely Delius Concerto in 2012.’
Sir Stephen Hough: ‘He was a wonderful collaborator in concertos – the sharpest ear and clearest stick’
Nicholas Collon: ‘Very sad news about Sir Andrew Davis. I will always cherish the last chord of Turangalila symphony with him and @NYO_GB in @bbcproms2001. In that moment he taught me to find a music intensity I didn’t yet know existed. A very sad loss to British music.’
Teresa Cahill: I am so sad to hear about the death of Sir Andrew Davis who was an exact contemporary of mine. We met first when we performed the 7 early songs of Alban Berg together with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and later during the many performances Andrew conducted of Verdi’s Falstaff at Glyndebourne. when I sang Alice Ford. I remember his kindness when my husband Robert Saxton caught mumps during the run.
‘I was once in the audience at the Royal Festival Hall at a concert by Sawallisch and bumped into him. I asked him what he was doing there and he replied “O, I just thought I would come and see how the old master does it!”
Mark Biggins: ‘It was a great pleasure to assist the late Sir Andrew Davis last Autumn on a program of Stravinsky, Britten and Boulanger. Relaxed yet demanding, and full of fire for the music. He said Symphony of Psalms was one of his top five pieces, and it was a privilege to share it with him.’
Alexander Laskowski: ‘Very sad to hear about Sir Andrew’s death. I remember his (Weinberg) Passenger at the Lyric in Chicago as truly exceptional.’
What a sad loss. Sir Andrew was a giant on the musical scene for decades – another modest musician who never dreamed of courting publicity. He just got on with inspiring his players to give of their best and thus securing phenomenal live performances and outstanding recordings that will, for decades, be treasured by those who love music. He was at home with works of all kinds, from established classics to avant garde.
It seems like only yesterday that he emerged as a leading conductor. The fact that he was eighty years comes as a huge surprise, given his boundless energy and seemingly eternal youth. For conductors, it’s no age at all alongside Boult, Toscanini, Monteux, Stokowski and especially Herbert Blomstedt, still in harness at 96 years old!
Sic transit gloria mundi. Rest in peace – you will never be forgotten.
https://www.bruceduffie.com/davis.html
Two interviews that Bruce Duffie did with Andrew that I transcribed for him. Worth a read. Such terribly sad news.
From the moment in 1979 when Lorin Maazel announced he would be leaving Cleveland for Vienna, he reduced his presence significantly. It would be five years until Dohnanyi arrived in 1984. In between, Andrew Davis was a frequent presence, much of the glue over that long, unsettling transition.
I remember a memorable Beethoven 9 he took over from Maazel – classically scaled, polished. What The Cleveland Orchestra did best, and far from the extremes we had often heard. He let them play it their way. And he was always engaging and patient in the Green Room after a concert for we younger, curious concert goers with questions.
His Cleveland Gerontius was my first hearing of it. It made an unexpected impression and has evolved into a favorite work. Later I saw him conduct it again at St. Paul’s for the BBC’s 75th anniversary, an overwhelming experience.
So, thank you, Sir Andrew, for all the wonderful concerts, all the first experiences, and for all you unknowingly taught.
I think his geniality and openness were a huge factor in his success. I collaborated with him at the BBC Symphony in the 1980s, (and much later in New York) and felt that he was a perfect choice to take over the orchestra, which at that time, at least, could be somewhat combative. He took everything they threw at him and returned it with grace and good humor. A remarkable man.
A great Maestro,
a rare heavyweight with a lightness of touch.
Excellent description of his style!
RIP
Along with many attributes, he was possibly the best concerto accompanist I had the honour of playing under.
Very sad news. Wonderful conductor.
Once had the privilege of hearing him rehearse and perform a UK premiere of formidable music by Elliott Carter – I can still picture it.
Nothing daunted him.
I heard him conduct a big band Messiah with a lot of energy last December in Chicago. No sign from the podium that he was ill. The performance is a good way remember him. Too bad his Chicago Ring cycle had to be canceled due to Covid.
An interview from 2022…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIEEfmwQncY
Far too soon! So many wonderful memories from Glyndebourne days,Chicago Lyric the Proms etc. etc. you gave me so many opportunities Andrew as well as support, kindness, encouragement and friendship. Thankyou, see you anon, Kim.X.
Saw him conduct at Glyndebourne, the completion by Anthony Payne of the sketches of Elgar’s Third symphony at the 1998 Proms and in 1985 the Israel Philharmonic in Tel Aviv. A fine conductor who will be greatly missed. May he rest in peace and his memory (and recordings) be a blessing.
So sad to hear this. Wonderful musician, wonderful man. Have followed his music-making since our days at Cambridge in the ’60s. Always so affable.
Mqy he rest in peace.
I was privileged to work with Sir Andrew Davis in a performance of Elgar Sea Pictures, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in Peterborough Cathedral.
Thanks for the CV. We’ll be in touch.
From: Richard Stanbrook.
Date: 21st April 2024.
A veritable giant of a conductor has passed on. My condolences to his family and countless friends / colleagues.
Sir Andrew Davis first came to my attention during the 1970s / 1980s when, as a young man, he recorded a fine account of Shostakovich’s 10th Symphony with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. However, British music lovers owe much to Sir Andrew for his advocacy and subsequent recording of Hugh Wood’s mighty Symphony, coupled with his sensuous “Scenes from Comus.” (BBC Symphony Orchestra: NMC record company).
Lux Aeterna.
I worked as Staff Producer on “Die Schweigsame Frau” at Glyndebourne in 1977 which Andrew conducted with great musical insight. Very happy memories. A fine musician; may he rest in peace.
I remember Andrew’s “audition” concert with the Toronto Symphony during the 1973-74 season. The main piece was Strauss’ Domestic Symphony. I recall it well because this was the first and last time I ever played the tenor tuba part! We met again on numerous occasions when he guest conducted the LA Philharmonic, and he was always in great form. The last time we were together was after a tour concert when we had a dirty limerick contest. I’m not proud to say that I won. Sir Andrew had a good laugh, but some people at the table felt sick. Rest in peace dear Andrew.
Ralph Sauer, Toronto Symphony principal trombone 1968-74.
I was privileged to see him week after week in the 1970s as a teenager. He taught me so much about music and classical music. His energy was always exuberant and positive. Toronto was lucky to have him for so many years. He will be missed. Thank you Sir Andrew. Farewell.
What a glorious array of testimonies, proving it’s possible to be an excellent conductor without being a you-know-what. Never worked with him, sadly, but loved his Four Last Songs with Kiri that I bought when it was released. His interpretation seemed so mature I thought he must have been an ‘elder statesman’. RIP and thank you for honouring your profession.
Some fear he was underappreciated, but that`s just the media he probably had no time and interest for.
Like Sir Charles Mackerras, a great musician and a kind man. Stars may not be either.
Thank you, Andrew, for our unforgettable collaborations and friendship over more than fifty years. You will be so much missed.
Lovely tribute, Gillian: & I can still recall your marvellous performance with Sir Andrew of Poulenc’s Organ Concerto at the R.A.H.BBC Proms – marvellous!
‘Great British Music Festival’, Royal Festival Hall, 1982; Andrew is conducting Robert Simpson’s Fifth Symphony. As all hell is breaking out in the last movement, he makes a wild gesture at the strings which sends the score flying off the music stand. The leader leans forward, retrieves it from the floor and slides it, closed, back onto the stand. Andrew hurriedly flicks through it with his left hand until he finds the place again — and all this time, in this complex, wildly propulsive, energetic music, his right hand quite literally hasn’t missed a beat. A remarkable display of both unflappability and technical prowess. It was a thrilling performance anyway, but that bit of drama was icing on the cake – and it occasioned much noisy laughter from Bob and Andrew backstage afterwards.
He was just as genial and self-effacing during undergraduate days at Cambridge where he was Organ Scholar at King’s College. His audition for that position has become legendary: David Willcocks gave teenage Andrew Davis harder and harder pieces to play but there was NOTHING he couldn’t sightread.
One aspect of the late Sir Andrew Davis’s work which I always felt never quite received the recognition it deserved was his expertise in music composed by individuals who might loosely be described as ‘early Modernist’ composers. I remember hearing him perform some Webern in the late 1960s, when Davis was very much a ‘just-beginning-to-emerge’ conductor. Davis’s approach to Webern was absolutely superb. Far some seeing Webern as a ‘modern’, disjointed composer, Davis quite rightly intuitively viewed Webern as an inheritor and custodian of the great Austro-German tradition of Wagner, Schönberg etc. PERFECT choice of tempi, balance between the instruments, sense of form snd structure and so on, and Davis brought a real ‘warmth’ to the music which made him an absolute ‘natural’ in this repertoire. ‘Early Modernist’ music might not be the first repertoire associated with Sir Andrew Davis, but he had an immense affinity with this music.
One of my all-time favourite recordings is from the mid-1960s: an LP of Howells’s church music, sung by the choir of King’s College, Cambridge, directed by David Willcocks. The organ scholar who played impeccable accompaniments of such beauty & sensitivity was the young Andrew Davis. Magical! – & his singing of the Last Night of the Proms speech in the 1990s was one of the funniest moments ever.
R.I.P – a truly great musician & a man who will be remembered forever.
A really delightful man. Interviewed him re the Proms in the 1990s. He could not have been kinder. A wonderful interpreter from the podium who seemed simultaneously in contact with the composer the orchestra and the audience. RIP.
Very sad news. Not mentioned in the posts and responses (I believe) is the fact that his big ‘break’ came when he was appointed to succeed Karel Ancerl with the Toronoto Symphony after Ancerl’s death in 1973. He had recently been Associate Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony, a more prestigious position than its name implies in that his predecessors had included Colin Davis and Alexander Gibson, and one of his successors was Simon Rattle.
There is an interesting anecdote in a book published a couple of years ago to mark Scottish Opera’s 60th anniversary “Scottish Opera’s Golden Years: The Glitter And Why It Faded.” It alleges that Alexander Gibson was first approached by Toronto about possible interest in the post. By then Gibson had been in charge of the Scottish National Orchestra for around 15 years and Scottish Opera for around a dozen. Originally interested, he then changed his mind. When the more junior conductor (in terms of seniority) Andrew Davis was appointed, there is the further allegation that Gibson was somewhat distressed. By recommitting himself to more years in Scotland, he had realised he was perhaps denying himself a more truly international career.
How true or not is immaterial today. Sir Andrew would unquestionably still have emerged as a major figure in the conducting profession. It is the poorer for his loss. My deepest sympathy to his family, friends and many colleagues in the profession.
Proof, if ever it were needed, a conductor doesn’t have to be arrogant, stuck-up or go around hitting people (mention no names) to get to the top of his profession…
Does anyone else remember the wonderful BBC documentary he did some years ago on the Enigma Variations?
When I sang Faninal in Chicago, my wife Sarah (who knew him well from her days at the BBC SO) was amused that, American-style, the name on his dressing-room door was Mo.(for Maestro) Davis. So of course she addressed him as Mo for ever after, always eliciting that wonderful hearty laugh from him. On one occasion he phoned me at home to ask me to step in for a sick colleague, and said “Ah, Peter, it’s Mo here!” A lovely man, always a joy to work with – like many others I’ll miss hearing that infectious laugh. RIP, Andrew, and thank you for everything.
Anita and I feel so fortunate to have played many times for Andrew at Watford, and for Hertfordshire Chamber and Salomon Orchestras in his formative years.
We have nothing but fond memories of his wonderful musicianship and have followed his subsequent career with pleasure. His sense of humour and general friendly demeanour, free from ego, was always a joy.
Si Andrew was loved by Toronto. He performed at least once in 50 of the 100 seasons the Toronto Symphony Orchestra has existed and performed nearly 1,000 concerts here. So many beautiful and inspiring concerts, and who can forget his laugh, his smile and his hilarious stories! A life well lived!
I don’t think one ever saw him without a smile. A jovial spirit with the finest of musical instincts, clearest of beats and imbuing a real feeling of ‘it’s good to be alive.’ Thank you Sir Andrew.
As a horn player and concert-goer, I’d met Sir Andrew on many occasions through his career, most recently after a very moving performance of Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius he’d conducted at the closing concert of the 2022 Edinburgh Festival and, as usual, he was so generous with his time and was delighted to talk about Elgar outside the Stage Door after the concert. Rather cheekily, I’d taken along an empty CD box of his Elgar recordings on Warner Classics and asked if he’d sign the inside of the box which he gladly did. I said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ve still got the CDs’ and I’ll never forget that infectious laugh in response. As a conductor I always found him so warm and encouraging – he was a real singer’s conductor – and his humour was never far away.
The first time I met him was after a performance of Mahler 5 with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the BBC Proms in 1978, as an 18 year old horn player who was there to meet up with Alan Civil, my second cousin, and I’d gone in through the Stage Door – as you could easily do in those days – straight to the Conductor’s Dressing Room and was amazed with just how easily he chatted and signed my programme. So many gloriously memorable performances followed, Elgar’s The Kingdom with the Philharmonia at the Royal Festival Hall, Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, Mahler 2 and Britten’s War Requiem at the Proms, a wonderful Schumann 3 with the RSNO in Glasgow, and a powerful performance of Tippett’s A Child of Our Time at last year’s Edinburgh Festival are some of the highlights. I was looking forward to seeing him conduct Richard Strauss’s Capriccio at this year’s Edinburgh Festival but, sadly, that will not be. I’ve spent the last week listening to his Elgar recordings, mostly using the Warner Classics box, but also using the performances of his Symphonies which I’d witnessed recorded live with the Philharmonia from London’s South Bank as part of the Elgar 2007 Festival on Signum Classics which, for me, edge ahead of the BBCSO recordings. RIP Maestro. You will be greatly missed.