Dennis Russell Davies(born April 16, 1944, inToledo, Ohio) is an American conductor and pianist. He is chief conductor of theBrno Philharmonicand of theMDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Biography
editDavies studied piano and conducting at theJuilliard School,where he received his doctorate. He was Music Director of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra from 1972 to 1980. In 1977 he co-founded theAmerican Composers Orchestrawith composerFrancis Thorne,and he was its music director until 2002.[1]Davies was music director of theBrooklyn Philharmonicfrom 1991 to 1996.
In 1980, Davies moved toStuttgart,Germany, where he was General Music Director of the Baden-WürttembergState Opera Housefrom 1980 to 1987. There he premiered twoPhilip Glassoperas, along with many standard operas, often in productions with innovative and unusual staging. He has worked with many directors, includingRobert Altmanin a collaboration onSalomein Hamburg. He has also held permanent posts with theStuttgart Chamber Orchestra,the Orchestra of the Beethovenhalle Bonn (1987–1995), and the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. Davies was chief conductor of theBruckner Orchestra Linzand the Linz Opera from 2002 to 2017.[2]In March 2008, Davies was named the third music director of theSinfonieorchester Basel,effective with the 2009–10 season, for an initial contract of five years.[3][4]He held the post through the 2016–17 season.[5]In September 2017, theBrno Philharmonicannounced the appointment of Davies as its next principal conductor, effective with the 2018–2019 season, with an initial contract of four seasons.[6]In November 2019, theMDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestraannounced the appointment of Dennis Russell Davies as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2020–2021 season, with an initial contract of 4 years. In April 2024, the orchestra announced an extension of Davies' contract through the 2026-2027 season.[7]
Davies has also led many festival orchestras, including theAspen Music Festival,theCabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music,which he directed from 1974 to 1990, and the Saratoga Music Festival. He conductedDer fliegende Holländerat theBayreuth Festival,the third American to conduct there, and taught orchestral conducting at the SalzburgMozarteum.
Davies's recordings of note include Copland'sAppalachian Springwith theSaint Paul Chamber Orchestrain 1979, for which he won aGrammy Award;Arvo Pärt'sFratresandMiserere;and many ofPhilip Glass's operas and symphonies, including the 5th symphony, which is dedicated to Davies. He premiered Glass' Symphony No. 10 at a 2012 New Year's concert in Linz. On Glass's 80th birthday, January 31, 2017, Davies premiered Glass' Symphony No. 11 atCarnegie Hallin New York.[8]Lou Harrison's 3rd Symphony is also dedicated to Davies.
Davies has had a long-standing association with the jazz pianistKeith Jarrett.He has conducted Jarrett in classical concerto repertoire (including Mozart, Lou Harrison andAlan Hovhaness) and has himself performed Jarrett's music for piano and conducted Jarrett's orchestral music (featuring Jarrett as soloist as well as saxophonist Jan Garbarek). Davies also performs regularly in a piano duo with his wife, Maki Namekawa.[9]
References
edit- ^Anthony Tommasini (April 17, 2002)."True to His Mission, Davies Bows Out With Orchestra".New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on April 22, 2019.RetrievedJanuary 31,2016.
- ^"Markus Poschner wird neuer Linz Opern- und Orchesterchef".Die Presse.February 22, 2015.RetrievedJanuary 31,2016.
- ^Julie Bloom (March 21, 2008)."Arts, Briefly: Basel Symphony Names Director".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on June 12, 2018.RetrievedFebruary 7,2010.
- ^Georg Rudiger (February 5, 2010)."Der das Profil schärfen soll".Badische Zeitung.RetrievedFebruary 7,2010.
- ^"Ivor Bolton wird Chefdirigent des Basler Sinfonieorchesters".Der Standard.June 30, 2015.Archivedfrom the original on June 12, 2018.RetrievedJanuary 31,2016.
- ^"Uměleckým ředitelem a šéfdirigentem Filharmonie Brno je Dennis Russell Davies. Světoznámý umělec povede orchestr od příští sezony"(Press release). Brno Philharmonic. September 27, 2017. Archived fromthe originalon September 27, 2017.RetrievedSeptember 27,2017.
- ^"Dennis Russell Davies bleibt bis 2027 Chefdirigent"(Press release). MDR. April 16, 2024.Archivedfrom the original on April 18, 2024.RetrievedApril 18,2024.
- ^William Robin (January 27, 2017)."Philip Glass Celebrates His 80th Birthday With an 11th Symphony".New York Times.RetrievedJuly 19,2017.
- ^Anne Midgette (February 24, 2017)."At 80, America's most famous composer remains a maverick. The man who's conducted his 11 symphonies talks about why".Washington Post.RetrievedApril 18,2024.
External links
edit- Official website(in English and German)
- Dr Raab & Dr Böhm Künstleragentur agency biography of Dennis Russell Davies
- 2 interviews with Dennis Russell Davies,January 6, 1982 & December 8, 1987