Sir Andrew Davis dead: British conductor dies aged 80 after career leading BBC’s Last Night of the Proms dozens of times
LEGENDARY conductor Sir Andrew Davis has died, aged 80.
The much-loved Brit – who held the honour of being chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra – passed away following a battle with leukaemia.
He led the Last Night of the Proms on multiple occasions during the 1990s.
Sir Andrew conducted the proms in 1997 just two weeks after the death of Princess Diana.
He said previously: “I spoke of the remarkable legacy each had left, and of our gratitude.
“Many people wrote to say that I had helped them come to terms with the tragedy of Diana’s death.”
Tributes have flooded in following the announcement.
Fellow conductor Michael Seal said: “RIP Sir Andrew Davis – I never had the fortune to meet him in person but did spend a lovely couple of hours interviewing him for my podcast.
“A lovelier person you couldn’t wish to meet, humble & warm. He’ll be sorely missed – a great conductor & musician as well as a lovely human.”
British cellist and conductor Julian Lloyd Webber, brother of Andrew Lloyd Webber, said: “Sad to learn of the death of Sir Andrew Davis. A great musician who was wonderful with his soloists.
“I treasure the memory of a lovely Delius Concerto in 2012 with Philharmonia Orchestra. RIP.”
Paying tribute to the conductor, the Royal Opera House wrote on X: “We are saddened to hear of the death of conductor Sir Andrew Davis.
“In a career spanning over 5 decades, he was the artistic leader of several of the world’s most distinguished opera and symphonic institutions including BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus and Glyndebourne.
“He made his Royal Opera debut in 1983 conducting Der Rosenkavalier and last conducted Capriccio (in concert) in 2013. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this sad time.”
Sir Andrew was born in Hertfordshire on February 2, 1994.
He was the eldest of four children, with his father Robert a singer at the local church and his mother Florence having played the piano as a child.
Sir Andrew, however, labelled his family as “not especially musical”.
He retired from the BBC in 2000 and moved to the US with his third wife.