Davis was born in Weybridge, Surrey to Reginald George and Lillian Davis. The family was musical, and he was exposed to music from an early age. Davis was educated at Christ's Hospital in Sussex and then won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London. Davis developed a greater interest in conducting. He was, however, not eligible for the conducting class at the college, because he could not play the piano.

Following compulsory military service and completing his studies at college, Davis served as a clarinetist in the band of the Life Guards. Stationed at Windsor, he had continual opportunities to attend concerts in London. In 1949, he began his career as a freelance musician. His first conducting work was with the Kalmar Orchestra, which he co-founded with other former students of the Royal College. He was subsequently invited to conduct the recently founded Chelsea Opera Group. In the early years of his career, he also took some engagements as an orchestral clarinetist.
His first breakthrough came in 1957 when he secured the post of assistant conductor of the BBC Scottish Orchestra. Davis first found wide acclaim when he stood in for an ill Otto Klemperer in a performance of Don Giovanni in 1959.

In 1960, Davis made his début at the Proms. In the same year, he was appointed chief conductor of Sadler's Wells Opera, and in 1961 he was made musical director of the company.
In 1970, Sir David Webster invited Davis to be principal conductor of the Royal Opera at Covent Garden. In 1977, he became the first English conductor to appear at Bayreuth.
From 1983 to 1993, Davis was chief conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. As a principal guest conductor he was associated with the Dresden Staatskapelle, which appointed him honorary conductor in 1990, the first in the orchestra's 460-year-history.

In 1995, Davis was appointed principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, the culmination of a long association with the orchestra. Davis was the longest-serving principal conductor in the history of the LSO, holding the post from 1995 until 2006.

After his wife's death in 2010, Davis's health declined rapidly. He fell from the podium at Covent Garden in February 2011, and cancelled many engagements in the subsequent months. His last concert with the LSO was a performance of Berlioz's Requiem in 2012.
Source: Wikipedia

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