Editing Colin Davis (section)

==Bavarian Radio Symphony and London Symphony Orchestras==
From 1983 to 1993, Davis was chief conductor of the [[Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra]], with whom he developed his concert hall repertoire, including symphonies by [[Anton Bruckner|Bruckner]] and [[Gustav Mahler|Mahler]].<ref name=naxos>[https://www.naxos.com/conductorinfo/Colin_Davis/32276.htm "Davis, Colin"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090622104035/https://www.naxos.com/conductorinfo/Colin_Davis/32276.htm |date=22 June 2009 }}, Naxos.com. Retrieved 10 January 2010</ref> He was offered but declined the music directorships of the [[Cleveland Orchestra]] in succession to Maazel and the [[New York Philharmonic]] in succession to [[Zubin Mehta]].<ref>Morrison, p. 217.</ref> As a principal guest conductor he was associated with the [[Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden|Dresden Staatskapelle]], which appointed him honorary conductor (''Ehrendirigent'') in 1990, the first in the orchestra's 460-year-history,<ref name=lennox /> and whose musicians referred to Davis with the nickname "Der Sir".<ref>{{cite press release | url=http://www.staatskapelle-dresden.de/en/news/article/die-saechsische-staatskapelle-dresden-trauert-um-ihren-ehrendirigenten-sir-colin-davis/56180/ | title=The Staatskapelle Dresden mourns the death of its Conductor Laureate, Sir Colin Davis | publisher=Staatskapelle Dresden | date=16 April 2013 | access-date=25 December 2014}}</ref> From 1998 to 2003, he was principal guest conductor of the New York Philharmonic.<ref name=who />

In 1995, Davis was appointed principal conductor of the [[London Symphony Orchestra]], the culmination of a long association with the orchestra. He had first conducted the LSO in 1959, and in 1964 he headed the orchestra's first world tour. He became principal guest conductor in 1975 and was at the helm in the LSO's first major series at its new home, the [[Barbican Centre]], in a Berlioz/Tippett festival in 1983.<ref name=lennox>Mackenzie, Lennox, [http://lso.co.uk/home/sir-colin-davis-50th-anniversary "50 years with Sir Colin Davis"], LSO.co.uk. Retrieved 10 January 2010 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130070740/http://lso.co.uk/home/sir-colin-davis-50th-anniversary |date=30 November 2009 }}</ref> In 1997 he conducted the LSO's first residency at [[Lincoln Center]] in New York City.<ref name=lennox /> Davis was the longest-serving principal conductor in the history of the LSO, holding the post from 1995 until 2006, after which the orchestra appointed him its President, an honour previously held only by [[Arthur Bliss]], [[William Walton]], [[Karl Böhm]] and [[Leonard Bernstein]].<ref>LSO concert programme booklet, 9 January 2007</ref> On 21 June 2009, 50 years to the day after his first LSO performance, a special concert was given at the Barbican, at which present-day players were joined by many past members of the orchestra.<ref name=lennox /> His programme for the concert was Mozart's [[Symphony No. 40 (Mozart)|Symphony No 40]] in G minor, and Brahms's [[Piano Concerto No. 2 (Brahms)|Piano Concerto No 2]], with [[Nelson Freire]] as soloist.<ref>LSO concert programme booklet, 21 June 2009</ref>

During his time with the LSO, both as principal conductor and later as president, Davis conducted series and cycles of the music of Sibelius, Berlioz, Bruckner, Mozart, Elgar, Beethoven, and Brahms,<ref name=lennox /> and in 2009 began presenting a cycle of the symphonies of [[Carl Nielsen]].<ref>LSO concert programme note, 1 October 2009</ref> ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' wrote:

: "He conducted a Sibelius cycle in 1992 and a concert performance of ''Les Troyens'' the following year, both of which have become the stuff of legend. More recently he has added grand performances of Bruckner, [[Richard Strauss]] and Elgar, the première of Tippett's last major work, ''The Rose Lake'' (1995), and a Berlioz cycle begun with ''Benvenuto Cellini'' in 1999 and crowned by an incandescent ''Les Troyens'' in December 2000, all confirming his partnership with the LSO as one of the most important of its time."<ref name=grove />