Editing Colin Davis (section)

==BBC and Sadler's Wells==
His first breakthrough came in 1957 when, at his third attempt, he secured the post of assistant conductor of the BBC Scottish Orchestra (now the [[BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra]]).<ref>{{cite web | author=Ivan Hewett | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/classicalmusic/9993968/Sir-Colin-Davis-from-angry-young-firebrand-to-wise-elder-statesman.html | title=Sir Colin Davis: from angry young firebrand to wise elder statesman | work=The Daily Telegraph | date=15 April 2013 | access-date=25 December 2014}}</ref> The chief conductor of the orchestra generally chose to conduct the standard repertoire pieces himself, and left Davis with modern works and non-standard repertoire works, including those of Berlioz.<ref>Blyth, p. 11</ref> By 1959, Davis had developed to the extent that, after a concert of [[Igor Stravinsky|Stravinsky]] and [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]] with the [[London Mozart Players]], the chief music critic of ''[[The Observer]]'', [[Peter Heyworth]], wrote:

: "Mr Davis conducted two works in a manner that showed that he is not only outstanding among our younger conductors, but probably the best we have produced since Sir Thomas Beecham, his senior by forty-eight years."<ref>Heyworth, Peter, "Best Since Beecham", ''The Observer'', 6 September 1959, p. 23</ref>

[[File:Glyndebourne 2.jpg|right|thumb|[[Glyndebourne Festival Opera|Glyndebourne]], scene of one of Davis's early breakthroughs]]
Davis first found wide acclaim when he stood in for an ill [[Otto Klemperer]] in a performance of ''Don Giovanni'', at the [[Royal Festival Hall]] in 1959. A year later, Beecham invited him to collaborate with him in preparing ''[[The Magic Flute]]'' at [[Glyndebourne Festival Opera|Glyndebourne]]. Beecham was taken ill, and Davis conducted the opera. After the ''Don Giovanni'', ''[[The Times]]'' wrote, "A superb conductor of Mozart declared himself last night at the Festival Hall…. Mr Davis emerged as a conductor ripe for greatness."<ref>"Outstanding ''Don Giovanni'' under Mr. Colin Davis", ''The Times'', 19 October 1959, p. 6</ref> [[Neville Cardus]] in ''[[The Guardian]]'' was less enthusiastic but nevertheless considered that he "had his triumphs" in the performance.<ref>"[[Elisabeth Schwarzkopf|Schwarzkopf]] dominant in concert version of ''Don Giovanni''", ''The Guardian'', 20 October 1959, p. 7</ref> After ''The Magic Flute'', ''The Times'' called Davis "master of Mozart's idiom, style and significance",<ref>"Mozart Genius at its Peak", ''The Times'', 29 July 1960, p. 13</ref> although Heyworth in ''The Observer'' was disappointed by his tempi, judging them to be too slow.<ref>Heyworth, Peter. "Disenchanted Flute", ''The Observer'', 31 July 1960, p. 18</ref>

In 1960, Davis made his début at [[the Proms]] in a programme of [[Benjamin Britten|Britten]], [[Robert Schumann|Schumann]], Mozart and Berlioz.<ref>''The Times'', 3 August 1960, p. 5</ref> In the same year, he was appointed chief conductor of [[English National Opera|Sadler's Wells Opera]], and in 1961 he was made musical director of the company, with whom he built up a large repertoire of operas, conducting in London and on tour.<ref>Blyth, p. 13</ref> ''[[Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians]]'' wrote of this period, "He excelled in ''[[Idomeneo]]'', ''[[The Rake's Progress]]'' and ''[[Oedipus rex (opera)|Oedipus rex]]'', and ''[[Fidelio]]''; his [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]], Verdi and [[Giacomo Puccini|Puccini]] were less successful. He introduced [[Kurt Weill|Weill]]'s ''[[Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny|Mahagonny]]'', and [[Ildebrando Pizzetti|Pizzetti]]'s ''[[Assassinio nella cattedrale]]'' to the British public and conducted the première of [[Richard Rodney Bennett|Bennett]]'s ''[[The Mines of Sulphur]]'' (1965)."<ref name=grove>[https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/07305?q=Colin+Davis&source=omo_epm&source=omo_t237&source=omo_gmo&source=omo_t114&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit "Colin Davis"], ''Grove's Dictionary'', Oxford Music Online. Retrieved 9 January 2009</ref> Together with the stage director [[Glen Byam Shaw]], he worked to present operas in a way that gave due weight to the drama as well as the music.<ref name=blyth21>Blyth, p. 21</ref> In his early years, Davis was known as something of a firebrand with a short fuse in rehearsals,<ref>{{cite web | author=Rupert Christiansen | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/opera/9994402/Sir-Colin-Davis-and-his-stormy-career-in-opera.html | title=Sir Colin Davis and his stormy career in opera | work=The Daily Telegraph | date=15 April 2013 | access-date=25 December 2014}}</ref> and his departure from Sadler's Wells in 1965 was not without acrimony.<ref name=naxos />

After he left Sadler's Wells, and being passed over as principal conductor of the [[London Symphony Orchestra]],<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9994121/Sir-Colin-Davis.html | title=Sir Colin Davis | work=The Daily Telegraph | date=15 April 2013 | access-date=25 December 2014}}</ref> Davis was named chief conductor of the [[BBC Symphony Orchestra]] (BBC SO), effective September 1967.<ref name=orga158>Orga, p. 158</ref> At first, in the general view of the public, his tenure was overshadowed, at least during [[the Proms]], by the memory of [[Malcolm Sargent|Sir Malcolm Sargent]]. Compared to the "suave father figure" image of Sargent<ref name=cox>Cox, p. 192</ref> to the promenaders, it took some time for the much younger Davis to be accepted.<ref name=orga158 /> The BBC's official historian of the Proms later wrote, "Davis never really identified himself with the Proms in the way that Sargent had done.<ref name=cox /> Davis was uncomfortable with the traditional hullabaloo of the Last Night of the Proms and attempted, unsuccessfully, to modernise it.<ref>Orga, p. 166</ref> The BBC's Controller of Music, [[William Glock]], was a long-standing admirer of Davis, and encouraged him to put on adventurous programmes, with a new emphasis on modern music, both at the Proms and throughout the rest of the orchestra's annual schedule.<ref>Blyth, p. 16</ref>  Following his tenure as BBC SO chief conductor, Davis served as chief guest conductor of the BBC SO from 1971 to 1976.<ref>Kenyon, Nicholas, ''The BBC Symphony Orchestra: The first fifty years, 1930-1980''.  British Broadcasting Corporation (ISBN 0 563 17617 2), p. 441 (1981).</ref>