The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra & Sir Andrew Davis
Biography The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra & Sir Andrew Davis
Sir Andrew Davis
One of today’s most recognized and acclaimed conductors, Sir Andrew Davis’s career spans over forty-five years in which he has been the artistic leader at several of the world's most distinguished opera and symphonic institutions, including Lyric Opera of Chicago (Music Director and Principal Conductor, 2000-2021), the BBC Symphony Orchestra (Conductor Laureate and Chief Conductor from 1991-2004, the longest tenure since that of its founder Sir Adrian Boult), Glyndebourne Festival Opera (Music Director 1988-2000), Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (Conductor Laureate and Chief Conductor from 2013-2019), and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (Conductor Laureate and Principal Conductor from 1975-1988), where he also served as Interim Artistic Director through 2020. In addition, he holds the honorary title of Conductor Emeritus from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Sir Andrew has led performances at many of the world's most important opera houses, among them the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, Bayreuth Festival, and the major companies of Munich, Paris, San Francisco, and Santa Fe. In addition to those ensembles, he has appeared with virtually every other internationally prominent orchestra, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, and all the major British orchestras.
In the 20/21 season, Sir Andrew is invited to conduct a BBC Prom, the Edinburgh International Festival, and was to have celebrated 50 years of partnership with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in 2020. Although performances were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, other notable plans in 2020 were to have included a new production of Wagner’s Ring Cycle with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, concerts with the Philadelphia Orchestra in its home city and on tour in Florida, a tour to Europe and the UK with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, as well as performing and recording Mahler’s eighth symphony with the MSO which would complete Sir Andrew’s Mahler symphony cycle with the orchestra. In the 19/20 season, Maestro Davis also led the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra, with whom he performed his own arrangement of Handel’s Messiah. His engagements with the Orchestre National de Lyon and the Toronto Symphony this season will be postponed to the following season.
A vast and award-winning discography documents Sir Andrew's artistry. 2020 saw the release of his recording of Massenet’s Thaïs with the Toronto Symphony (winner of the 2021 JUNO Award for Best Classical Album: Vocal or Choral), as well as the third volume of his ongoing recording project of the orchestral works of Eugene Goossens with the Melbourne Symphony. Other recent titles including the works of Berlioz, Bliss, Elgar (winner of the 2018 Diapason d’Or de l’Année - Musique Symphonique), Finzi, Grainger, Delius, Ives, Holst, Handel (nominated for a Grammy in 2018 for Best Choral Performance), and York Bowen (nominated for a Grammy in 2012 for Best Orchestral Performance). His lauded recordings with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus celebrating British composers from Teldec’s The British Line series was recently released as a 16-CD retrospective collection by Warner Classics. Sir Andrew currently records for Chandos Records, where he has been an exclusive artist since 2009.
Born in 1944 in Hertfordshire, England, Maestro Davis studied at King's College, Cambridge, where he was an organ scholar before taking up conducting. His diverse repertoire ranges from Baroque to contemporary, and spans the symphonic, operatic, and choral worlds. Sir Andrew is a great proponent of twentieth-century works including those by Janáček, Messiaen, Boulez, Elgar, Tippett, and Britten, in addition to the core symphonic and operatic works. As chief conductor, Sir Andrew has always participated in the creation and premieres of new repertoire and new compositions, personally conducting a great number of them.
In 1992, Maestro Davis was created a Commander of the British Empire, and in 1999 he was designated a Knight Bachelor in the New Year Honours List. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois.
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Established in 1906, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is Australia’s pre-eminent orchestra and a cornerstone of Victoria’s rich, cultural heritage.
Each year, the MSO engages with more than 5 million people, presenting in excess of 180 public events across live performances, TV, radio and online broadcasts, and via its online concert hall, MSO.LIVE, with audiences in 56 countries.
With a reputation for excellence, versatility and innovation, the MSO works with culturally diverse and First Nations leaders to build community and deliver music to people across Melbourne, the state of Victoria and around the world.
In 2022, the MSO ‘s new Chief Conductor, Jaime Martín has ushered in an exciting new phase in the Orchestra’s history. Maestro Martín joins an Artistic Family that includes Principal Guest Conductor Xian Zhang, Principal Conductor in Residence, Benjamin Northey, Conductor Laureate, Sir Andrew Davis CBE, Composer in Residence, Paul Grabowsky and Young Artist in Association, Christian Li.
The MSO regularly attracts exceptional artists from across the globe including Chinese pianist Lang Lang, German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi, American soprano Renée Fleming and, in 2022, cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason (UK), Korean pianist Yeol Eum Son, tenor Kang Wang and conductor Vasily Petrenko.
Committed to shaping and serving the city it inhabits, the MSO reaches beyond the customary classical audience. Recent contemporary collaborations include performances with Tina Arena, Archie Roach, Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, Ben Folds, The Bamboos, Vera Blue, Dannii Minogue, Birds of Tokyo, and the Australian premiere of Toy Story in Concert.
The first Australian orchestra to perform overseas (1965) and the first to debut at Carnegie Hall (1970), the MSO has a proud history of international touring and has established firm roots through regular engagement in China, Indonesia and Singapore. The MSO boasts close ties with some of the world’s finest orchestras including London Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra and the National Centre for Performing Arts in Beijing.
As an active ambassador for the arts, the MSO campaigns for the rights of all people to gain access to our music. Presenting carefully curated learning programs, a regional touring schedule, accessible concerts and free community events, the MSO provides opportunities for music lovers to be involved with the Orchestra, no matter their age or location.
