conductor

Davis studied the clarinet at the Royal College of Music in London, where he was barred from taking conducting lessons owing to his lack of ability at the piano. Nonetheless, he formed and often served as conductor of the Kalmar Orchestra with fellow students. In 1952, Davis worked at the Royal Festival Hall, and in the late 1950s conducted the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He first found wide acclaim when he stood in for an ill Otto Klemperer in a performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera, Don Giovanni, at the Royal Festival Hall in 1959.

Beckenham, UK (1965-present) Andrew Manze (born 14th January 1965, Beckenham) is an English baroque violinist and conductor. Having first started playing the baroque violin while studying Classics at Cambridge University, he went on to study with Simon Standage, one of the founding members of The English Concert, at the Royal Academy of Music, followed by further studies with Lucy van Dael at La Haye.

Read more about Andrew Manze on Last.fm.

Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy (sometimes transliterated Ashkenazi) (Russian: ????????? ?????????? ?????????) (born July 6, 1937) is a Russian conductor and, more notably, a pianist. He was born in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Ashkenazy began his studies at the age of 6 and showing prodigious talent, was accepted at the Central Music School at 8. A graduate of the Moscow Conservatory, he won second prize in the prestigious International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1955 and shared first prize in the 1962 International Tchaikovsky Competition with English pianist John Ogdon.

William Lincoln Christie (born December 19, 1944 in Buffalo, New York) is the founder and director of Les Arts Florissants. Christie studied art history at Harvard University (where he was briefly assistant conductor of the Harvard Glee Club) and music at Yale University. He moved to France in 1971, where he became known for his interpretations of Baroque music, particularly French Baroque music, working with René Jacobs and others.