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The London Symphony Orchestra inspires hearts and minds through extraordinary music-making – with concerts at home in London at the Barbican Centre and LSO St Luke's, on tour around the world, and online.
The London Symphony Orchestra has just issued a statement mourning the passing earlier today of its president, Sir Colin Davis.
He was a towering figure and was the great pioneer of Berlioz. It is fitting that the last time I saw him conduct, it was Berlioz's Requiem, in St Paul's Cathedral, last summer - an overwhelming experience.
Our chief weapon is surprise...surprise and fear...fear and surprise.... Our two weapons are fear and surprise...and ruthless efficiency....
Thank you, Sir Colin, for achieving greatness through being true to yourself and your vision, and thereby passing on to music lovers a real sense of musical discovery and fulfilment. One in a billion. RIP.
That is dreadful news. He's always been a key part of the musical world, since I was into music. Difficult to recalibrate now...
A huge, huge loss
"...the isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices..."
The Mozart operas, the Haydn and Sibelius Symphonies, everything by Berlioz and Tippett: he just made you forget every other performance/recording you'd heard and convince you (even if only for the moment) that this was how the Music should go. A genuine giant of a Musician, and a real loss to the world.
Farewell, Sir Colin; and thank you.
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][I][B]Numquam Satis![/B][/I][/FONT]
I think it was hearing his way with the 2nd movement Valse - complete with cornet - in this classic
that first really opened my ears in my late teens to the fact that the bod on the podium was capable of elevating something that could sound prosaic into the sublime.
I've never looked back.
"...the isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices..."
This truly is a great loss. A fine conductor and a very fine human being to boot. Less then three years after the death of his beloved Ashraf. Sincere condolences to his offspring Joseph, Suzanne. Christopher, Kurosh, Kavus, Farhad, Sheida and Yalda.
Sir Colin has been a major part of my musical life from the beginning. One of the first classical LP's I had was the 1969 Last Night of the Proms. I saw him many, many times but my abiding memory is when I went to Moscow in December 1979 as part of a tour with the LSO and seeing Sir Colin in the Kremlin complete with Russian shapka. Went backstage to meet him on the night of the final concert in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire.
One of Britain's greatest conductors and perhaps never fully appreciated here. RIP Sir Colin Davis.
"The sound is the handwriting of the conductor" - Bernard Haitink
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