Dennis Russell Davies

Russell Davis in 2013

Dennis Russell Davies (born April 16, 1944, in Toledo, Ohio) is an American conductor and pianist. He is chief conductor of the Brno Philharmonic and of the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Biography

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Davies studied piano and conducting at the Juilliard 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 the American Composers Orchestra with composer Francis Thorne, and he was its music director until 2002.[1] Davies was music director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic from 1991 to 1996.

In 1980, Davies moved to Stuttgart, Germany, where he was General Music Director of the Baden-Württemberg State Opera House from 1980 to 1987. There he premiered two Philip Glass operas, along with many standard operas, often in productions with innovative and unusual staging. He has worked with many directors, including Robert Altman in a collaboration on Salome in Hamburg. He has also held permanent posts with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Beethovenhalle Bonn (1987–1995), and the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. Davies was chief conductor of the Bruckner Orchestra Linz and the Linz Opera from 2002 to 2017.[2] In March 2008, Davies was named the third music director of the Sinfonieorchester 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, the Brno Philharmonic announced 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, the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra announced 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 the Aspen Music Festival, the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, which he directed from 1974 to 1990, and the Saratoga Music Festival. He conducted Der fliegende Holländer at the Bayreuth Festival, the third American to conduct there, and taught orchestral conducting at the Salzburg Mozarteum.

Davies's recordings of note include Copland's Appalachian Spring with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in 1979, for which he won a Grammy Award; Arvo Pärt's Fratres and Miserere; and many of Philip 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 at Carnegie Hall in New York.[8] Lou Harrison's 3rd Symphony is also dedicated to Davies.

Davies has had a long-standing association with the jazz pianist Keith Jarrett. He has conducted Jarrett in classical concerto repertoire (including Mozart, Lou Harrison and Alan 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

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  1. ^ Anthony Tommasini (April 17, 2002). "True to His Mission, Davies Bows Out With Orchestra". New York Times. Archived from the original on April 22, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  2. ^ "Markus Poschner wird neuer Linz Opern- und Orchesterchef". Die Presse. February 22, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  3. ^ Julie Bloom (March 21, 2008). "Arts, Briefly: Basel Symphony Names Director". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2010.
  4. ^ Georg Rudiger (February 5, 2010). "Der das Profil schärfen soll". Badische Zeitung. Retrieved February 7, 2010.
  5. ^ "Ivor Bolton wird Chefdirigent des Basler Sinfonieorchesters". Der Standard. June 30, 2015. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  6. ^ "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 from the original on September 27, 2017. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  7. ^ "Dennis Russell Davies bleibt bis 2027 Chefdirigent" (Press release). MDR. April 16, 2024. Archived from the original on April 18, 2024. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  8. ^ William Robin (January 27, 2017). "Philip Glass Celebrates His 80th Birthday With an 11th Symphony". New York Times. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  9. ^ 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. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
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Cultural offices
Preceded by
Leopold Sipe
 Music Director, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
1972–1980 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Music Director, Baden-Württemberg National Theater
1980–1987 		Succeeded by
Luis Garcia Navarro
Preceded by Music Director, Beethovenhalle Orchestra
1987–1995 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
(no predecessor)
 Music Director, American Composers Orchestra
1977–2002 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Martin Sieghart
 Principal Conductor, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra
1995–2006 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Principal Conductor, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra
1996–2002 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Martin Sieghart
 Music Director, Bruckner Orchestra Linz
2002–2017 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Music Director, Sinfonieorchester Basel
2009–2016 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Principal Conductor, Brno Philharmonic
2018–present 		Succeeded by
incumbent
Preceded by Chief Conductor, MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra
2020–present 		Succeeded by
incumbent
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