We’ve been fondly remembering the conductor Sir Andrew Davis (1944-2024), who passed away in April 2024 at the age of 80. Davis was known and much admired for many things – his luminous performances of Vaughan Williams, Elgar and other great British composers, for example – but he’s perhaps best remembered for his long and fruitful association with the BBC Proms.
Davis was a hugely popular Proms conductor, presiding over the closing Last Night of the Proms on no fewer than 12 occasions. His final stint at the Last Night of the Proms came in 2018, on a memorable night also featuring the American mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton.
Perhaps Davis’s most memorable Last Night, however, was his fourth, in 1992, when he rounded off his farewell speech with this remarkable Gilbert and Sullivan-flavoured tribute to the festival:
We salute you, Sir Andrew. Wherever you are now, may there be an orchestra, a captive audience and a podium with your name on it.