Colin Davis

Sir Colin Rex Davis CH CBE 25 September 1927 14 April 2013 was an English conductor known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra having first conducted it in 1959 His repertoire was broad but among the composers with whom he was particularly associated were Mozart Berlioz Elgar Sibelius Stravinsky and Tippett Davis studied as a clarinetist but was intent on becoming a conductor After struggling as a freelance conductor from 1949 to 1957 he gained a series of appointments with orchestras including the BBC Scottish Orchestra the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra He also held the musical directorships of Sadlers Wells Opera and the Royal Opera House where he was principal conductor for over fifteen years His guest conductorships included the Boston Symphony Orchestra the New York Philharmonic and the Staatskapelle Dresden among many others As a teacher Davis held posts at the Royal Academy of Music London and the Landesgymnasium für Musik Carl Maria von Weber preparatory school for music in Dresden He made his first gramophone recordings in 1958 and his discography over the next five decades was extensive with many studio recordings for Philips Records and a substantial catalogue of live recordings for the London Symphony Orchestras own label Davis was born in Weybridge Surrey the fifth of seven children to Reginald George Davis a bank clerk and Lillian Constance Colbran Davis The family was musical and he was exposed to music from an early age He recalled I can still see Sargent conducting the first concert I ever attended I can still hear Melchior in the final scene of Siegfried an old 78 playing on my fathers gramophone I can also remember the moment I decided to make music my life I was 13 or 14 at the time and the performance was of Beethovens Eighth Doors were suddenly opened I became totally involved even obsessed by music although I was frightfully enclosed by my likes and dislikes Today Im game for anything With financial assistance from his greatuncle Davis was educated at Christs Hospital in Sussex and then won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London where he studied the clarinet with Frederick Thurston His fellowstudents included Gervase de Peyer but Davis developed a greater interest in conducting He was however not eligible for the conducting class at the college because he could not play the piano Source Article Colin Davis from Wikipedia in English licensed under CCBYSA