While most closely associated with music by British composers, Andrew Davis consistently demonstrated penetrating insights into a strikingly eclectic range of repertoire. The emotional complexity and expressive depth of his conducting, combined with his genial ability to inspire fellow musicians, led to interpretations rich in ideas and charged with immense vitality. As persuasive in the music of Mozart, Berlioz and Richard Strauss as he was in works by Elgar, Britten and Vaughan Williams, he was armed with a winning blend of perceptive artistry, abundant technical skills and a passionate heart that blazed in performance. Born in Hertfordshire in 1944, Andrew Davis was a boy chorister and played organ at his parish church before studying piano at London’s Royal College of Music. He became organ scholar at King’s College, Cambridge, and made his first recordings in company with its famous choir in the mid-1960s. Conducting studies at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome led to a succession of guest conducting jobs with British orchestras, and to his appointment as music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (1975-88). Davis’ discography grew during his tenure as chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra (1989-2000) and music director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera (1988-2000), as did his reputation as a first-rate conductor. He won critical acclaim for, among other albums, the first recordings of Elgar’s Symphony No. 3 and Birtwistle’s The Mask of Orpheus, and charmed audiences worldwide with the humour of his annual speeches as conductor of the Last Night of the BBC Proms. He brought artistic distinction and fresh energy to Chicago Lyric Opera, which he served as music director (2000-21), and as chief conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (2013-19).