Meredith Davies (conductor)
Encyclopedia
Meredith Davies CBE
(30 July 1922 - 9 March 2005) was a British conductor, renowned for his advocacy of English music by composers such as Benjamin Britten
, Frederick Delius
and Ralph Vaughan Williams
.
His co-conducting, with the composer, of the premiere of Britten’s War Requiem
, at the re-consecration of Coventry Cathedral
on 30 May 1962, is generally regarded as one of the highlights of British 20th-century choral music.
, Cheshire
, the second son of a clergyman. At the age of seven he became a junior exhibitioner at the Royal College of Music
in London
, as a cellist
. He went to the Stationers' Company's School
, North London. He soon showed an interest in the organ, and was taken as a pupil by George Thalben-Ball
.
At age 17 he served as organist at Hurstpierpoint College
for a year, before being elected in 1940 as organ scholar of Keble College, Oxford
. Studies for his philosophy, politics and economics degree were interrupted by war service with the Royal Artillery
, 1942–45. After demobilisation, in 1947 he took up the first of his two cathedral appointments, as organist and Master of the Choristers for St Albans Cathedral Choir
.
He moved to Hereford Cathedral
in 1949 as organist and choirmaster, in succession to Sir Percy Hull
, staying there until 1956. This entailed being conductor of the Three Choirs Festival
in 1952 and 1955. His performances at the festival included a memorable The Dream of Gerontius
with an ailing Kathleen Ferrier
. Having been encouraged by Sir Adrian Boult
to become a full-time conductor, he went to the Accademia di Santa Cecilia
in Rome
in 1954 and 1956 to study conducting with Fernando Previtali
. He returned to Oxford in 1956, to spend three years as organist and supernumerary fellow of New College, Oxford
.
He then became conductor of the City of Birmingham Choir. In 1957 he was appointed assistant conductor to Andrzej Panufnik
at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
and was being groomed to be his successor. In 1960, when Panufnik resigned because of ill-health, Davies was offered the post, but declined, feeling he was not yet ready for the responsibility. Nevertheless, he became deputy musical director.
He cut his operatic teeth with Colin Davis
’s Chelsea Opera Group, and conducted Berlioz
’s La damnation de Faust in 1958, Mozart
’s Idomeneo
in 1962 and Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia
in 1963.
During the 1959-60 Birmingham season, Davies took over the conducting of Britten's Spring Symphony
from the composer, who was unwell. Britten was so impressed that he invited him to conduct The Rape of Lucretia and The Turn of the Screw
at the 1960 and 1961 Aldeburgh Festival
s. Davies resigned from the deputy musical directorship in Birmingham in 1960, and made a very successful Covent Garden
debut in November, conducting Peter Grimes
. His handling of the big choral ensembles received particular praise. Early in 1961 he conducted more performances of Peter Grimes before going to Vancouver
in July for the North American premiere of A Midsummer Night's Dream
. He conducted the Covent Garden production of that opera at the Edinburgh Festival
, taking over from Georg Solti
, and in December conducted it in London. The following year Davies conducted Delius
's A Village Romeo and Juliet
for Sadler's Wells Opera
(now English National Opera) and travelled to Buenos Aires
for the South American premiere of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
In 1963 Davies became music director of Britten's English Opera Group
(EOG) for two years. He also conducted new works by Richard Rodney Bennett
, Humphrey Searle
and R. W. Wood at the Cheltenham Festivals
. He also conducted Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Albert Herring
, The Turn of the Screw, Let's Make an Opera and Britten's version of The Beggar's Opera
, either on tour, at Aldeburgh, or at Sadler's Wells Theatre when the EOG visited London.
government refused, on political grounds, to allow the intended soprano soloist Galina Vishnevskaya
to take part, and her part had to be learned at ten days' notice by Heather Harper
. As the premiere neared, it became evident that Britten was uncomfortable about directing the performance himself. Alternative conductors such as Georg Solti
and Carlo Maria Giulini
were suggested, but Britten proposed that Meredith Davies would conduct the orchestra, chorus and Heather Harper, and Britten himself would conduct the chamber orchestra accompanying the two male soloists (Peter Pears
, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
) and the Melos Ensemble. The performance was a triumph and is still considered a landmark in British 20th century music. Britten and Davies also shared the conducting at the first London performance in Westminster Abbey
, but thereafter Davies often conducted the work by himself.
Late in 1963 Davies conducted Francis Poulenc
's Dialogues des Carmélites
at Covent Garden. In September 1964, he led the EOG on an historic tour of the Soviet Union
, visiting Leningrad
, Riga
and Moscow
. That year he was appointed musical director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
and stayed in that post until 1971, broadening its repertory considerably. He conducted several concerts by the Hallé
during its 1976 visit to the Hong Kong
Festival.
He was also chief conductor of the BBC Training Orchestra, musical director of the Royal Choral Society
and conductor of the Leeds Philharmonic Society
.
He was Principal of Trinity College of Music
1979-88, President of the Incorporated Society of Musicians
1985–86, and Chairman of the Delius Trust 1991-97.
’s Riders to the Sea
and Sir John in Love
.
Frederick Delius
was another speciality: he made recordings of A Village Romeo and Juliet
, Fennimore and Gerda
, the Requiem, the Idyll, and the Violin Concerto with Yehudi Menuhin
.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(30 July 1922 - 9 March 2005) was a British conductor, renowned for his advocacy of English music by composers such as Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
, Frederick Delius
Frederick Delius
Frederick Theodore Albert Delius, CH was an English composer. Born in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family of German extraction, he resisted attempts to recruit him to commerce...
and Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
.
His co-conducting, with the composer, of the premiere of Britten’s War Requiem
War Requiem
The War Requiem, Op. 66 is a large-scale, non-liturgical setting of the Requiem Mass composed by Benjamin Britten mostly in 1961 and completed January 1962. Interspersed with the traditional Latin texts, in telling juxtaposition, are settings of Wilfred Owen poems...
, at the re-consecration of Coventry Cathedral
Coventry Cathedral
Coventry Cathedral, also known as St Michael's Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry, in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The current bishop is the Right Revd Christopher Cocksworth....
on 30 May 1962, is generally regarded as one of the highlights of British 20th-century choral music.
Biography
Meredith Davies was born in BirkenheadBirkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, the second son of a clergyman. At the age of seven he became a junior exhibitioner at the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, as a cellist
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
. He went to the Stationers' Company's School
Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers
The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company was founded in 1403; it received a Royal Charter in 1557...
, North London. He soon showed an interest in the organ, and was taken as a pupil by George Thalben-Ball
George Thalben-Ball
Sir George Thomas Thalben-Ball CBE was an organist and composer who, though originally from Australia, spent most of his life in Britain....
.
At age 17 he served as organist at Hurstpierpoint College
Hurstpierpoint College
Hurstpierpoint College is an independent, co-educational, day and boarding school for pupils aged 4–18, located just to the north of the village of Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex in the lee of the South Downs...
for a year, before being elected in 1940 as organ scholar of Keble College, Oxford
Keble College, Oxford
Keble College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to the south by Museum Road, and to the west by Blackhall...
. Studies for his philosophy, politics and economics degree were interrupted by war service with the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
, 1942–45. After demobilisation, in 1947 he took up the first of his two cathedral appointments, as organist and Master of the Choristers for St Albans Cathedral Choir
St Albans Cathedral Choir
St. Albans Cathedral Choir is an English Cathedral Choir based in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. It is made up of around 25 boy choristers aged 7–14 and 12 adult Lay Clerks...
.
He moved to Hereford Cathedral
Hereford Cathedral
The current Hereford Cathedral, located at Hereford in England, dates from 1079. Its most famous treasure is Mappa Mundi, a mediæval map of the world dating from the 13th century. The cathedral is a Grade I listed building.-Origins:...
in 1949 as organist and choirmaster, in succession to Sir Percy Hull
Percy Hull
Sir Percy Clarke Hull was an English organist and composer who revived the Three Choirs Festival during his time as organist of Hereford Cathedral from 1918 to 1949...
, staying there until 1956. This entailed being conductor of the Three Choirs Festival
Three Choirs Festival
The Three Choirs Festival is a music festival held each August alternately at the cathedrals of the Three Counties and originally featuring their three choirs, which remain central to the week-long programme...
in 1952 and 1955. His performances at the festival included a memorable The Dream of Gerontius
The Dream of Gerontius
The Dream of Gerontius, popularly called just Gerontius, is a work for voices and orchestra in two parts composed by Edward Elgar in 1900, to text from the poem by John Henry Newman. It relates the journey of a pious man's soul from his deathbed to his judgment before God and settling into Purgatory...
with an ailing Kathleen Ferrier
Kathleen Ferrier
Kathleen Mary Ferrier CBE was an English contralto who achieved an international reputation as a stage, concert and recording artist, with a repertoire extending from folksong and popular ballads to the classical works of Bach, Brahms, Mahler and Elgar...
. Having been encouraged by Sir Adrian Boult
Adrian Boult
Sir Adrian Cedric Boult CH was an English conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in London for the Royal Opera House and Sergei Diaghilev's ballet company. His first prominent post was...
to become a full-time conductor, he went to the Accademia di Santa Cecilia
Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia is one of the oldest musical institutions in the world, based in Italy.It is based at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, and was founded by the papal bull, Ratione congruit, issued by Sixtus V in 1585, which invoked two saints prominent in Western...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 1954 and 1956 to study conducting with Fernando Previtali
Fernando Previtali
Fernando Previtali was an Italian conductor, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, especially Verdi operas....
. He returned to Oxford in 1956, to spend three years as organist and supernumerary fellow of New College, Oxford
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
.
He then became conductor of the City of Birmingham Choir. In 1957 he was appointed assistant conductor to Andrzej Panufnik
Andrzej Panufnik
Sir Andrzej Panufnik was a Polish composer, pianist, conductor and pedagogue. He became established as one of the leading Polish composers, and as a conductor he was instrumental in the re-establishment of the Warsaw Philharmonic orchestra after World War II...
at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. The Orchestra's current chief executive, appointed in 1999, is Stephen Maddock...
and was being groomed to be his successor. In 1960, when Panufnik resigned because of ill-health, Davies was offered the post, but declined, feeling he was not yet ready for the responsibility. Nevertheless, he became deputy musical director.
He cut his operatic teeth with Colin Davis
Colin Davis
Sir Colin Rex Davis, CH, CBE is an English conductor. His repertoire is broad, but among the composers with whom he is particularly associated are Mozart, Berlioz, Elgar, Sibelius, Stravinsky and Tippett....
’s Chelsea Opera Group, and conducted Berlioz
Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
’s La damnation de Faust in 1958, Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
’s Idomeneo
Idomeneo
Idomeneo, re di Creta ossia Ilia e Idamante is an Italian language opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Varesco from a French text by Antoine Danchet, which had been set to music by André Campra as Idoménée in 1712...
in 1962 and Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia
The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's comedy Le Barbier de Séville , which was originally an opéra comique, or a mixture of spoken play with music...
in 1963.
During the 1959-60 Birmingham season, Davies took over the conducting of Britten's Spring Symphony
Spring Symphony
The Spring Symphony is Benjamin Britten's Opus 44. It is dedicated to Serge Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. It was premiered in the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam on Thursday 14 July 1949 as part of the Holland Festival, when the composer was 35...
from the composer, who was unwell. Britten was so impressed that he invited him to conduct The Rape of Lucretia and The Turn of the Screw
The Turn of the Screw (opera)
The Turn of the Screw is a 20th century English chamber opera composed by Benjamin Britten with a libretto by Myfanwy Piper, "wife of the artist John Piper, who had been a friend of the composer since 1935 and had provided designs for several of the operas". The libretto is based on the novella...
at the 1960 and 1961 Aldeburgh Festival
Aldeburgh Festival
The Aldeburgh Festival is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on the main concert hall at Snape Maltings...
s. Davies resigned from the deputy musical directorship in Birmingham in 1960, and made a very successful Covent Garden
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
debut in November, conducting Peter Grimes
Peter Grimes
Peter Grimes is an opera by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto adapted by Montagu Slater from the Peter Grimes section of George Crabbe's poem The Borough...
. His handling of the big choral ensembles received particular praise. Early in 1961 he conducted more performances of Peter Grimes before going to Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
in July for the North American premiere of A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream (opera)
A Midsummer Night's Dream is an opera with music by Benjamin Britten and set to a libretto adapted by the composer and Peter Pears from William Shakespeare's play, A Midsummer Night's Dream...
. He conducted the Covent Garden production of that opera at the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
, taking over from Georg Solti
Georg Solti
Sir Georg Solti, KBE, was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor. He was a major classical recording artist, holding the record for having received the most Grammy Awards, having personally won 31 as a conductor, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition to his...
, and in December conducted it in London. The following year Davies conducted Delius
Frederick Delius
Frederick Theodore Albert Delius, CH was an English composer. Born in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family of German extraction, he resisted attempts to recruit him to commerce...
's A Village Romeo and Juliet
A Village Romeo and Juliet
A Village Romeo and Juliet is an opera by Frederick Delius, the fourth of his six operas. The composer himself, with his wife Jelka, wrote the English-language libretto based on the short story Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe by the Swiss author Gottfried Keller. The first performance was at the...
for Sadler's Wells Opera
English National Opera
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
(now English National Opera) and travelled to Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
for the South American premiere of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
In 1963 Davies became music director of Britten's English Opera Group
English Opera Group
The English Opera Group was a small company of British musicians formed in 1947 by the composer Benjamin Britten for the purpose of presenting his and other, primarily British, composers' operatic works. The group later expanded in order to present larger-scale works, and was renamed the English...
(EOG) for two years. He also conducted new works by Richard Rodney Bennett
Richard Rodney Bennett
Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, CBE is an English composer renowned for his film scores and his jazz performance as much as for his challenging concert works...
, Humphrey Searle
Humphrey Searle
Humphrey Searle was a British composer.-Biography:He was born in Oxford where he was a classics scholar before studying — somewhat hesitantly — with John Ireland at the Royal College of Music in London, after which he went to Vienna on a six month scholarship to become a private pupil of Anton...
and R. W. Wood at the Cheltenham Festivals
Cheltenham Festivals
]Cheltenham Festivals is a registered charity that organises four festivals every year in the spa town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire: the Jazz, Science, Music and Literature. In addition to this it promotes the use of several venues for private and commercial use ]Cheltenham Festivals is a...
. He also conducted Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Albert Herring
Albert Herring
Albert Herring, Op. 39, is a chamber opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten.Composed in the winter of 1946 and the spring of 1947, this comic opera was a successor to his serious opera The Rape of Lucretia...
, The Turn of the Screw, Let's Make an Opera and Britten's version of The Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satirical ballad opera to remain popular today...
, either on tour, at Aldeburgh, or at Sadler's Wells Theatre when the EOG visited London.
Premiere of Britten’s War Requiem, 1963
Davies had by now had a significant association with Benjamin Britten. Britten's original intention was to conduct the War Requiem himself. Davies was engaged to prepare the large chorus, drawn from all over the diocese. When Britten, following a minor operation, arrived in Coventry for final rehearsals, he found the acoustics unsatisfactory, cathedral staff unco-operative, and the chorus on the verge of walking out when an attempt was made to reduce their numbers because of lack of space. Meanwhile, the SovietSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
government refused, on political grounds, to allow the intended soprano soloist Galina Vishnevskaya
Galina Vishnevskaya
Galina Pavlovna Vishnevskaya is a Russian soprano opera singer and recitalist who was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1966.-Biography:...
to take part, and her part had to be learned at ten days' notice by Heather Harper
Heather Harper
Heather Harper CBE is a Northern Ireland-born British operatic soprano.She was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1930, where she received her early musical training...
. As the premiere neared, it became evident that Britten was uncomfortable about directing the performance himself. Alternative conductors such as Georg Solti
Georg Solti
Sir Georg Solti, KBE, was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor. He was a major classical recording artist, holding the record for having received the most Grammy Awards, having personally won 31 as a conductor, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition to his...
and Carlo Maria Giulini
Carlo Maria Giulini
Carlo Maria Giulini was an Italian conductor.-Biography:Giulini was born in Barletta, Italy, to a father born in Lombardy and a mother born in Naples; but he was raised in Bolzano, which at the time of his birth was part of Austria...
were suggested, but Britten proposed that Meredith Davies would conduct the orchestra, chorus and Heather Harper, and Britten himself would conduct the chamber orchestra accompanying the two male soloists (Peter Pears
Peter Pears
Sir Peter Neville Luard Pears CBE was an English tenor who was knighted in 1978. His career was closely associated with the composer Edward Benjamin Britten....
, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is a retired German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music, one of the most famous lieder performers of the post-war period and "one of the supreme vocal artists of the 20th century"...
) and the Melos Ensemble. The performance was a triumph and is still considered a landmark in British 20th century music. Britten and Davies also shared the conducting at the first London performance in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
, but thereafter Davies often conducted the work by himself.
Late in 1963 Davies conducted Francis Poulenc
Francis Poulenc
Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a French composer and a member of the French group Les six. He composed solo piano music, chamber music, oratorio, choral music, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music...
's Dialogues des Carmélites
Dialogues of the Carmelites
Dialogues of the Carmelites , is an opera in three acts by Francis Poulenc. In 1953, M. Valcarenghi approached Poulenc to commission a ballet for La Scala in Milan; when Poulenc found the proposed subject uninspiring, Valcarenghi suggested instead a screenplay by Georges Bernanos, based on the...
at Covent Garden. In September 1964, he led the EOG on an historic tour of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, visiting Leningrad
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
and Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. That year he was appointed musical director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra performing in Vancouver, British Columbia. Over 240,000 people attend its live performances each year. It was founded in 1930 and plays in 12 venues. Its home is the Orpheum theatre. With an annual operating budget of $9.5 million, it is the...
and stayed in that post until 1971, broadening its repertory considerably. He conducted several concerts by the Hallé
The Hallé
The Hallé is a symphony orchestra based in Manchester, England. It is the UK's oldest extant symphony orchestra , supports a choir, youth choir and a youth orchestra, and releases its recordings on its own record label, though it has occasionally released recordings on Angel Records and EMI...
during its 1976 visit to the Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
Festival.
He was also chief conductor of the BBC Training Orchestra, musical director of the Royal Choral Society
Royal Choral Society
The Royal Choral Society is an amateur choir, based in London. Formed soon after the opening of the Royal Albert Hall in 1871, the choir gave its first performance as the Royal Albert Hall Choral Society on 8 May 1872 – the choir's first conductor Charles Gounod included the Hallelujah Chorus from...
and conductor of the Leeds Philharmonic Society
Leeds Philharmonic Society
Leeds Philharmonic Chorus is a leading choir in Europe, regularly performing to professional standards with internationally renowned soloists, orchestras and conductors....
.
He was Principal of Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music is one of the London music conservatories, based in Greenwich. It is part of Trinity Laban.The conservatoire is inheritor of elegant riverside buildings of the former Greenwich Hospital, designed in part by Sir Christopher Wren...
1979-88, President of the Incorporated Society of Musicians
Incorporated Society of Musicians
Incorporated Society of Musicians is the UK's professional body for musicians. It champions the importance of music and protects the rights of those working within music through a range of services, campaigns, support and practical advice...
1985–86, and Chairman of the Delius Trust 1991-97.
Other premieres
Davies conducted a number of other important, mainly British, premieres:- Anthony MilnerAnthony MilnerAnthony Milner was a British composer, teacher and conductor.Milner was born in Bristol, and educated at Douai School, Woolhampton, Berkshire. He won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music, where he studied piano with Herbert Fryer and theory with R. O. Morris...
’s cantata St Francis, with the City of Birmingham Chorus and Symphony Orchestra (1959) - Leoš JanáčekLeoš JanácekLeoš Janáček was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and all Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style. Until 1895 he devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research and his early musical output was influenced by...
’s 1914 cantata The Eternal Gospel, with his Birmingham forces (1960) - Malcolm WilliamsonMalcolm WilliamsonMalcolm Benjamin Graham Christopher Williamson AO , CBE was an Australian composer. He was the Master of the Queen's Music from 1975 until his death.-Biography:...
's English Eccentrics, a setting of the book by Edith SitwellEdith SitwellDame Edith Louisa Sitwell DBE was a British poet and critic.-Background:Edith Sitwell was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, the oldest child and only daughter of Sir George Sitwell, 4th Baronet, of Renishaw Hall; he was an expert on genealogy and landscaping...
(1964 Aldeburgh Festival) - Alan BushAlan BushAlan Dudley Bush was a British composer and pianist. He was a committed socialist, and politics sometimes provided central themes in his music.-Personal life:...
’s Variations, Nocturne and Finale on an English Sea Song, revised version (1965 Cheltenham FestivalCheltenham FestivalThe Cheltenham Festival is one of the most prestigious meetings in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, and has race prize money second only to the Grand National...
) - Lennox BerkeleyLennox BerkeleySir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley was an English composer.- Biography :He was born in Oxford, England, and educated at the Dragon School, Gresham's School and Merton College, Oxford...
’s one-act opera Castaway, with the EOG (1967) - Jonathan HarveyJonathan Harvey (composer)Jonathan Harvey is a British composer. He has held teaching positions at universities and music conservatories in Europe and the USA and is frequently invited to teach in summer schools around the world.-Life:...
’s Benedictus (1970) - PucciniGiacomo PucciniGiacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
’s operetta La rondineLa rondineLa rondine is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami, based on a libretto by Alfred Maria Willner and Heinz Reichert...
, with June BronhillJune BronhillJune Bronhill OBE was an internationally acclaimed Australian soprano opera singer.-Biography:She was born June Mary Gough in the inland Australian city of Broken Hill, New South Wales...
in the title role, at Covent GardenCovent GardenCovent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
(1974) - Alexander GoehrAlexander GoehrAlexander Goehr is an English composer and academic.Goehr was born in Berlin in 1932, the son of the conductor and Schoenberg pupil Walter Goehr. In his early twenties he emerged as a central figure in the Manchester School of post-war British composers. In 1955–56 he joined Oliver Messiaen's...
's Arden Must Die, with the New Opera Company at Sadler's Wells (1974) - Anthony Milner's Symphony No 2, with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (late 1970s)
- the revival of Thea MusgraveThea MusgraveThea Musgrave CBE is a Scottish composer of opera and classical music.-Biography:Born in Barnton, Edinburgh, Thea Musgrave studied at the University of Edinburgh and in Paris as a pupil of Nadia Boulanger...
’s Mary Queen of Scots for Scottish OperaScottish OperaScottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies funded by the Scottish Government...
(1980) - Thea Musgrave’s ChaucerGeoffrey ChaucerGeoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
settings, Triptych, with the London Symphony OrchestraLondon Symphony OrchestraThe London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
at the PromsThe PromsThe Proms, more formally known as The BBC Proms, or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in London...
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Recordings
Meredith Davies made the premiere recordings of Ralph Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
’s Riders to the Sea
Riders to the Sea (opera)
Riders to the Sea is a short one-act opera by Ralph Vaughan Williams, based on the eponymous play by the Irish author John Millington Synge. The composer completed the score in 1927, but it was not premiered until 1 December 1937, at the Royal College of Music, London...
and Sir John in Love
Sir John in Love
Sir John in Love is an opera in four acts by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. The libretto, by the composer himself, is based on Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor. Vaughan Williams originally titled his opera The Fat Knight...
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Frederick Delius
Frederick Delius
Frederick Theodore Albert Delius, CH was an English composer. Born in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family of German extraction, he resisted attempts to recruit him to commerce...
was another speciality: he made recordings of A Village Romeo and Juliet
A Village Romeo and Juliet
A Village Romeo and Juliet is an opera by Frederick Delius, the fourth of his six operas. The composer himself, with his wife Jelka, wrote the English-language libretto based on the short story Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe by the Swiss author Gottfried Keller. The first performance was at the...
, Fennimore and Gerda
Fennimore and Gerda
Fennimore und Gerda is a German-language opera in 11 "pictures," with four interludes, by the English composer Frederick Delius. It is usually performed and recorded in English, as "Fennimore and Gerda," in a translation by Philip Heseltine. The German libretto, by the composer himself, is based on...
, the Requiem, the Idyll, and the Violin Concerto with Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985...
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