Dennis Russell Davies’ activities as an opera and concert conductor, and as a pianist and chamber musician, are characterized by an extensive repertoire stretching from the Baroque to the latest music of our time. Widely considered to be one of the most innovative and adventurous conductors in the classical music world, Dennis Russell Davies has successfully challenged and inspired audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. He is noted for his exciting and well-structured concert programmes and for close working relationships with many composers, among them Luciano Berio, William Bolcom, John Cage, Manfred Trojahn, Philip Glass, Heinz Winbeck, Laurie Anderson, Philippe Manoury, Aaron Copland, Hans Werner Henze, Michael Nyman and Kurt Schwertsik.

After first appointments as Musical Director of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra 1972-1980 and Chief Conductor of the American Composers Orchestra in New York 1977-2002, Davies moved to Europe and settled down in Germany and Austria. He held positions as Music Director of the Staatsoper Stuttgart from 1980-1987, Chief Conductor of the Beethovenhalle Orchestra, Music Director of the Bonn Opera and the International Beethoven Festival from 1987-1995, after which he was chief conductor of the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra from 1995-2006.

In Austria, Dennis Russell Davies was appointed Chief Conductor of the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and entrusted with a conducting professorship at the Salzburg Mozarteum in 1997. In 2002 Davies became Chief Conductor of the Bruckner Orchestra Linz as well as Opera Director at the Landestheater Linz. Since August 2009 he has additionally assumed responsibility as Chief Conductor of the Basel Symphony Orchestra, Switzerland.


As a guest, Dennis Russell Davies has conducted such renowned orchestras as those in Cleveland, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston and the New York Philharmonic. In Europe he has worked with Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Accademia di Santa Cecilia di Roma, Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala di Milano, the Munich and Berlin Philharmonic orchestras, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra and the Concertgebouworkest Amsterdam.

After his début at the Bayreuth Festival 1978-1980 his operatic work has included conducting at Salzburg Festival, Lincoln Center Festival New York, Houston Grand Opera, Hamburg and the Bavarian State Operas – with directors like Harry Kupfer, Götz Friedrich, Achim Freyer, Peter Zadek, Robert Altmann, Juri Ljubimov, Daniela Kurz, Robert Wilson and Ken Russell – as well as Lyric Opera of Chicago, Metropolitan Opera New York and Opéra National de Paris. In January 2013, he gave his debut at the Teatro Reál in Madrid.

Following the inauguration of the new Linz Opera House in April 2013, at which occasion Dennis Russell Davies conducted the world premiere of Philip Glass’s opera "The Lost" as well as Strauss’ "Der Rosenkavalier", Davies started a new production of “Der Ring des Nibelungen” in 2013/14, which he continued and finished in 2014/15.
In 2014/15/16, Dennis Russell Davies is guest – among others - at Gewandhaus Leipzig, Dresden Philharmonic, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Orquesta Nacional de España, St. Petersburg Philharmonic and Yomiuri Nippon SO, as well as at Vienna’s State Opera and the National Opera Washington.

Dennis Russell Davies was born in Toledo (Ohio) and studied piano and conducting at the Juilliard School, New York. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
In December 2014, the title “Commandeur des Arts et Lettres” was bestowed on Dennis Russell Davies by the French government.