Conductor Sir Andrew Davis has died

British conductor Sir Andrew Davis has died aged 80. According to an obituary released on his website, Davis died on Saturday (20 April) ‘surrounded by family after a battle with leukemia’.

With a varied and successful career spanning more than 50 years, Davis’s major musical roles included music director and principal conductor with Lyric Opera of Chicago, chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, music director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera, chief conductor of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and music director of Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

The BBC Symphony Orchestra, with whom Davis held the longest tenure as chief conductor since its founder Sir Adrian Boult, released a tribute on social media which said: ‘We are deeply saddened to hear that Sir Andrew Davis has died… A vital force in British music for many decades and a friend to us all. He will be greatly missed.’

Born Andrew Frank Davis in Hertfordshire in February 1944, Davis was the son of Florence Joyce Badminton and Robert James Davis. He played the organ for the parish choir and sang in the choir at Watford Grammar School for Boys before going on to study piano at the Royal Academy of Music. He then studied the organ with Peter Hurford before becoming organ scholar at King’s College, Cambridge.

He began studying conducting in 1965 and was pianist, harpsichordist, and organist with the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields alongside his studies. He made his conducting debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in 1970 and served simultaneous terms as assistant conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in Glasgow and the Philharmonia Orchestra in London. Having made his North American debut with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 1971, he was named music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1975.

Davis made his operatic conducting debut in Glyndebourne’s 1973 production of Strauss’s Capriccio and in 1988 he became music director of the East Sussex opera house. He met his wife, soprano Gianna Rolandi Davis, while conducting her performance in Ariadne auf Naxos at the Metropolitan Opera in 1984. They married in 1989 and lived in England until 2000, moving to Chicago when Sir Andrew took up the role of principal conductor and music director of Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Lyric Opera of Chicago CEO, president and general director Anthony Freud said: ‘All of us at Lyric Opera of Chicago join the entire classical music world in mourning Sir Andrew’s passing. He was a true artistic partner to me and a shining light for so many of us. We will miss his incredible artistry, his extraordinary wisdom, his irrepressible humor, his unfettered zest for life, and his devotion to the arts and the humanities. We have all been incredibly fortunate to have had Sir Andrew as a constant inspiration for so many years.’

Davis led almost 700 performances during his 21-year tenure in Chicago, while Rolandi retired from performing and became the first director of vocal studies for Lyric’s Ryan Opera Center. She became the program’s director in 2006 and, after her retirement in 2013, continued to teach privately before her death in 2021.

Davis was named chief conductor of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in 2013 and accepted the honorary title of Conductor Emeritus of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in 2015. The 2021/22 season saw him celebrate 50 years of partnership with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, having held the role of chief conductor with the orchestra from 1989 to 2000, performing with the orchestra in Hong Kong, Japan, the US and Europe and conducting more performances of The Last Night of the Proms than any other conductor in recent history.

In a tribute on social media, the BBC Proms said: ‘A major musical figure at the Proms since 1968 and a favourite with audiences and musicians alike. His concerts will be remembered, and he will be greatly missed.’

Sir Andrew and Gianna Rolandi Davis are survived by their son, composer Edward Frazier Davis.