Following a long-standing and highly successful relationship with the MSO, Sir Andrew Davis was appointed Conductor Laureate in 2020 following his tenure as Chief Conductor from 2013-2019.
Sir Andrew Davis’s career spanned over fifty years in which he was 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 1989-2000, 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 held the honorary title of Conductor Emeritus from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Sir Andrew 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 appeared with virtually every other internationally prominent orchestra, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, and all the major British orchestras.
A vast and award-winning discography documents Sir Andrew's artistry. 2022 saw the release of his recording of Berg’s Violin Concerto/Three Pieces for Orchestra with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, which includes Sir Andrew’s orchestrations of Piano Sonata, Op. 1 and Passacaglia, as well as his recording of orchestral works of Carl Vine with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (nominated for an ARIA award for Best Classical Album). Other titles include the works of Berlioz, Bliss, Elgar (winner of the 2018 Diapason d’Or de l’Année - Musique Symphonique), Finzi, Goossens, Grainger, Delius, Ives, Holst, Handel (nominated for a GRAMMY in 2018 for Best Choral Performance), Massenet (winner of the 2021 JUNO Award for Best Classical Album: Vocal or Choral), 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 released as a 16-CD retrospective collection by Warner Classics.
Born in 1944 in Hertfordshire, England, Maestro Davis studied at King's College, Cambridge, where he was Organ Scholar before taking up conducting. His diverse repertoire ranged from Baroque to contemporary, and spanned the symphonic, operatic, and choral worlds. Sir Andrew was 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 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.
