He has written music for more than 100 television programmes, but is best known for creating music to accompany silent films. Davis's music is published by Faber Music.
Davis was born in Brooklyn,[1] New York City, to Jewish parents,[2] Sara (née Perlmutter) and Isadore Davis.[3] He studied composition with Paul Nordoff and Hugo Kauder, and subsequently with Per Nørgard in Copenhagen. He attended Bard College, in New York.[4] His early work in the US provided valuable conducting experience with organisations such as the New York City Opera and the Robert Shaw Chorale. In 1959 the revue Diversions, of which he was co-author, won an off-Broadway award and subsequently travelled to the Edinburgh Festival in 1961. As a direct result of its success there, Davis was commissioned by Ned Sherrin to compose music for the original British version of That Was the Week That Was. Other radio and TV commissions followed and Davis's UK career was launched.[5]
Davis also worked for television producer Jeremy Isaacs in providing the original music for the documentary history series The World at War (1973) for Thames Television and Cold War (1998). He also conducted the BBC's theme song for their coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, adapted from George Frideric Handel's "See the Conquering Hero Comes".
The Hollywood documentary series was followed by the documentaries Unknown Chaplin (1983), Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow (1987) and Harold Lloyd: The Third Genius (1989, see Harold Lloyd). In the 1980s and 1990s, Davis wrote and conducted the scores for numerous Thames Silents releases and television screenings.
By 1993, his reputation made him the number one choice for new scores to silent films. Many DVD releases, including Ben-Hur (1925), The Phantom of the Opera (1925), Safety Last (1923), DeMille's The Godless Girl (1928), Chaplin's City Lights (1931) (re-orchestrated by Davis[11] based on Chaplin's and Padilla's[12] original written score) and Erich von Stroheim's Greed (1924), use Davis's music. Davis also created an entire re-scoring of Clarence Brown's Flesh and the Devil (1927). In many of these recordings, he is the conductor as well the composer. On several occasions he has conducted these scores live in the cinema, as well as in concert halls as the film is being screened.
Stage works
Lady of the Camellias, The - La Dame Aux Camelias is a ballet in two acts and was first performed at the Croatian National Theatre, Zagreb by the Croatian National Theatre Ballet.[13]
Cyrano - a Birmingham Royal Ballet commission. It was premiered at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, (one excerpt), by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Carl Davis himself in 2006.[14]
Alice in Wonderland is Davis's musical set to the text of Lewis Carroll, adapted by John Wells. The first performance took place (2005) at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds under the direction of Ian Brown.[15]
The Mermaid is a musical set to Hiawyn Oram's text and is based upon the fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen. It received its debut performance at Fairfield Preparatory School: Loughborough Endowed Schools.[16]
Aladdin, commissioned by Scottish Ballet, is a Ballet in 3 acts. It received its first performance at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre by Scottish Ballet, with choreography by Robert Cohan.[17]
Lipizzaner is a ballet for chamber orchestra commissioned by the Northern Ballet Theatre. It premiered in November 1989 at the Manchester Palace by Northern Ballet Theatre.[18]
Personal life
Davis married the British actress Jean Boht on December 28, 1970.[19] They have two daughters, Hannah Louise (born 1972) and Jessie Jo (born 1974).[19] Davis has also composed music for daughter Hannah's films Mothers & Daughters (2004) and The Understudy (2008). Davis and his wife were executive producers on the latter, and they appeared in the film as a married couple, the Davidovitzes.[20]
^"San Francisco Silent Film Festival to Present Abel Gance's Napoleon". Movie News: Top News Stories. Turner Classic Movies. July 14, 2011. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
carl, davis, this, article, about, american, born, conductor, composer, other, uses, disambiguation, born, october, 1936, american, born, conductor, composer, lived, united, kingdom, since, 1961, cbeborn, 1936, october, 1936, brooklyn, york, city, occupation, . This article is about the American born conductor and composer For other uses see Carl Davis disambiguation Carl Davis CBE born October 28 1936 1 is an American born conductor and composer who has lived in the United Kingdom since 1961 Carl Davis CBEBorn 1936 10 28 October 28 1936 age 86 Brooklyn New York City U S Occupation s Conductor and composerYears active1960 presentSpouseJean Boht 1970 present Children2Websitecarldaviscollection wbr comHe has written music for more than 100 television programmes but is best known for creating music to accompany silent films Davis s music is published by Faber Music Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Television 3 Film music 4 Silent film music 5 Stage works 6 Personal life 7 References 8 External linksEarly life and career EditDavis was born in Brooklyn 1 New York City to Jewish parents 2 Sara nee Perlmutter and Isadore Davis 3 He studied composition with Paul Nordoff and Hugo Kauder and subsequently with Per Norgard in Copenhagen He attended Bard College in New York 4 His early work in the US provided valuable conducting experience with organisations such as the New York City Opera and the Robert Shaw Chorale In 1959 the revue Diversions of which he was co author won an off Broadway award and subsequently travelled to the Edinburgh Festival in 1961 As a direct result of its success there Davis was commissioned by Ned Sherrin to compose music for the original British version of That Was the Week That Was Other radio and TV commissions followed and Davis s UK career was launched 5 In 1991 Davis and Paul McCartney collaborated on Paul McCartney s Liverpool Oratorio recorded to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Loosely based on McCartney s own life the eight movement work was composed by Davis and McCartney and conducted by Davis Television EditDavis achieved early prominence with the title music for the BBC s anthology play series The Wednesday Play and later for Play for Today Other television scores include The Naked Civil Servant 1975 Shades of Greene 1975 The Kiss of Death 1977 Langrishe Go Down 1978 Prince Regent 1979 Private Schulz 1980 Oppenheimer 1980 Winston Churchill The Wilderness Years 1981 The Hound of the Baskervilles 1982 The Far Pavilions 1984 The Day the Universe Changed 1985 The Pickwick Papers 1985 Hotel du Lac 1986 Ashenden 1991 Pride and Prejudice 1995 Anne Frank Remembered 1995 Seesaw 1998 Coming Home 1998 Upstairs Downstairs 2010 and Brexicuted 2018 Davis also worked for television producer Jeremy Isaacs in providing the original music for the documentary history series The World at War 1973 for Thames Television and Cold War 1998 He also conducted the BBC s theme song for their coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup adapted from George Frideric Handel s See the Conquering Hero Comes Film music EditDavis has written a number of film scores including The Bofors Gun 1968 The Only Way 1970 I Monster 1971 Up Pompeii 1971 Up the Chastity Belt 1971 Rentadick 1972 What Became of Jack and Jill 1972 Catholics 1973 Man Friday 1975 The Sailor s Return 1978 The French Lieutenant s Woman 1981 for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music Champions 1983 King David 1985 The Girl in a Swing 1988 Scandal 1989 The Rainbow 1989 Frankenstein Unbound 1990 1 The Trial 1993 Widows Peak 1994 The Great Gatsby 2000 Mothers amp Daughters 2004 and The Understudy 2008 Silent film music EditIn the late 1970s Davis was commissioned by documentarians Kevin Brownlow and David Gill to create music for Thames Television s Hollywood A Celebration of the American Silent Film 1980 His association with them continued the same year with Abel Gance s epic silent film Napoleon 1927 which was restored and Davis music was used in its cinematic re release and television screenings 6 There was a similar treatment for D W Griffith s Intolerance Love s Struggle Through The Ages 1916 This had orchestral music originally but Davis s new score was used instead in 1989 In March 2012 Davis conducted the Oakland East Bay Symphony performing his score for Napoleon in the complete Brownlow restoration in a presentation by the San Francisco Silent Film Festival at the Paramount Theatre Oakland 7 8 9 10 The Hollywood documentary series was followed by the documentaries Unknown Chaplin 1983 Buster Keaton A Hard Act to Follow 1987 and Harold Lloyd The Third Genius 1989 see Harold Lloyd In the 1980s and 1990s Davis wrote and conducted the scores for numerous Thames Silents releases and television screenings By 1993 his reputation made him the number one choice for new scores to silent films Many DVD releases including Ben Hur 1925 The Phantom of the Opera 1925 Safety Last 1923 DeMille s The Godless Girl 1928 Chaplin s City Lights 1931 re orchestrated by Davis 11 based on Chaplin s and Padilla s 12 original written score and Erich von Stroheim s Greed 1924 use Davis s music Davis also created an entire re scoring of Clarence Brown s Flesh and the Devil 1927 In many of these recordings he is the conductor as well the composer On several occasions he has conducted these scores live in the cinema as well as in concert halls as the film is being screened Stage works EditLady of the Camellias The La Dame Aux Camelias is a ballet in two acts and was first performed at the Croatian National Theatre Zagreb by the Croatian National Theatre Ballet 13 Cyrano a Birmingham Royal Ballet commission It was premiered at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall one excerpt by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Carl Davis himself in 2006 14 Alice in Wonderland is Davis s musical set to the text of Lewis Carroll adapted by John Wells The first performance took place 2005 at the West Yorkshire Playhouse Leeds under the direction of Ian Brown 15 The Mermaid is a musical set to Hiawyn Oram s text and is based upon the fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen It received its debut performance at Fairfield Preparatory School Loughborough Endowed Schools 16 Aladdin commissioned by Scottish Ballet is a Ballet in 3 acts It received its first performance at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre by Scottish Ballet with choreography by Robert Cohan 17 Lipizzaner is a ballet for chamber orchestra commissioned by the Northern Ballet Theatre It premiered in November 1989 at the Manchester Palace by Northern Ballet Theatre 18 Personal life EditDavis married the British actress Jean Boht on December 28 1970 19 They have two daughters Hannah Louise born 1972 and Jessie Jo born 1974 19 Davis has also composed music for daughter Hannah s films Mothers amp Daughters 2004 and The Understudy 2008 Davis and his wife were executive producers on the latter and they appeared in the film as a married couple the Davidovitzes 20 References Edit a b c Colin Larkin ed 1992 The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music First ed Guinness Publishing p 637 8 ISBN 0 85112 939 0 Ciaran Brown meets film composer Carl Davis accessed December 4 2014 Carl Davis Biography 1936 Filmreference com Retrieved February 10 2013 Chur Elizabeth For Composer Carl Davis Life Is A Musical Merry go round Chicago Tribune Carl Davis Biography Faber Music Retrieved May 15 2014 Brownlow Kevin 2004 Napoleon Abel Gance s classic film Vol 1 Photoplay pp 217 236 ISBN 978 1 84457 077 5 San Francisco Silent Film Festival to Present Abel Gance s Napoleon Movie News Top News Stories Turner Classic Movies July 14 2011 Retrieved July 17 2011 Silent Film Festival to present Napoleon San Francisco Silent Film Festival July 15 2011 Retrieved July 17 2011 Calendar of Events Oakland Paramount Theatre of the Arts Retrieved July 17 2011 Gladysz Thomas July 14 2011 Napoleon s cinematic exile to end in 2012 SFGate com Retrieved July 17 2011 Roger Ebert City Lights 1931 Chicago Sun Times Chaplin as a composer CharlieChaplin com Archived from the original on March 14 2015 Lady of the Camellias The Faber Music Retrieved May 15 2014 Cyrano Faber Music Retrieved May 15 2014 Alice in Wonderland Faber Music Retrieved May 15 2014 Mermaid The Faber Music February 17 2011 Retrieved May 15 2014 Aladdin Faber Music April 3 2013 Retrieved May 15 2014 Lippizaner Faber Music November 29 1989 Retrieved May 15 2014 a b Jean Boht FullMovieReview com 2010 Retrieved April 19 2011 Full cast and crew for The Understudy 2008 The Internet Movie Database Retrieved October 25 2011 External links EditPersonal website Carl Davis at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Carl Davis amp oldid 1149053809, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
