The very best of Andrew Davis (4): His last recording
Daily Comfort ZoneWe hear that Andrew recently recorded for Chandos some of his own orchestrations of organ works by Bach. Not enough to fill a record. Chandos are pondering how to release the set.
Meanwhile…
In 2001, to mark the 50th Anniversary of the opening of the hall, the BBC Symphony under its Conductor Laureate, Sir Andrew Davis, gave a ‘Tribute to Stokowski’ concert which included the Maestro’s own orchestration of Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” and the Bach Toccata and Fugue in D minor heard here. Sir Andrew’s performances received high praise from the critics, with one remarking on “how wonderful it was that Davis took on his role of surrogate Stokowski with such panache.” Another commented on the Toccata and Fugue’s “arsenal of hues exploding across the hall with the counterpoint ricocheting left and right,” adding that “Davis engineered them so naturally they made perfect dramatic sense.”
I still don’t understand why Stokowski messed around with Bach and Ravel.
The thing about Andrew was that he was flexible. This is what made you feel as an orchestral musician that you were in a collaborative effort. I remember we were playing Rimsky’s Scheherazade and there was a part where I thought the accompaniment chord’s were very important and he did not feel that way. I went to him at intermission and explained to him the reason behind my viewpoint, which he accepted. Nice.
Socialized with him in Minnesota and it was just like you were spending the evening with family. Really a special individual. And I will miss his interpretations which he sort of put out there softly for the orchestra to accept.
Of course we are all entitled to our own interpretive ideas, but as orchestral musicians, generally , it matters not a jot – we are there to help the conductor put into sounds what the conductor has in his mind. I’m sure Sir Andrew was very polite with you , but if you think you had changed his mind over this, then either more persuasive than enybody I’ve come across, or q deluded ! ( respectfully)
I see he was also meant to conduct some of them at the Berliner Festspiele, with the Deutsche Oper orchestra.
https://www.berlinerfestspiele.de/musikfest-berlin/programm/2024/kalender/deutsches-symphonie-orchester-berlin
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, pardon.