Anthony Davis (composer) facts for kids

Anthony Davis, a famous American composer and pianist.

Anthony Davis (born February 20, 1951) is an American pianist and composer. He mixes many different music styles in his work. These include jazz, rhythm 'n' blues, gospel, and classical music. He also uses sounds from non-Western music, like Indonesian gamelan, and experimental music. Davis has played with many music groups. He is also a music professor at the University of California, San Diego.

Davis is most famous for his operas. An opera is a play where the story is told mostly through singing. He has been called a top African-American opera composer. His well-known operas include X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X, which first played in 1986. Another is Amistad, which started in 1997. Wakonda's Dream premiered in 2007. His opera The Central Park Five first played on June 15, 2019. This opera won him a Pulitzer Prize for Music on May 4, 2020. The Pulitzer Prize is a very important award for achievements in music, writing, and journalism.

Biography

Davis was born in Paterson, New Jersey in 1951. His father, Charles Davis, was a professor who studied the writer Richard Wright. Anthony grew up in different college towns. He earned a degree from Yale University in 1975. He has also taught at Yale and Harvard University.

Today, Davis is a respected Professor of Music at the University of California, San Diego. He joined the university in 1996. He is known as a great free-jazz pianist. He has played as a leader or a sideman (a musician who plays with a band but is not the main leader) in many groups. He played with famous musicians like Anthony Braxton and Leo Smith. In 1981, Davis started his own octet (an eight-person music group) called Episteme. He also wrote music for the 1993 Broadway play Angels in America.

Many of his operas tell stories about important people and events in African-American history. In 1986, Davis talked about why he wrote X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X. This opera is about the life of Malcolm X, a famous African-American leader. In 1997, his opera Amistad premiered. The story (called a libretto) was written by his cousin, Thulani Davis. Amistad is about an 1839 slave revolt on a Spanish ship. The case went to the US Supreme Court, which decided to free the Mende captives. The opera was later revised and received great praise.

Davis has also explored Native American history in his work. His opera Wakonda's Dream (2007) tells the story of a modern Native American Ponca family in Nebraska. It shows how their history affects them today. The story was written by Yusef Komunyakaa.

His opera Lilith premiered on December 4, 2009, at UCSD. The libretto (story) was by Allan Havis. The story is about Lilith, a figure from Jewish mythology. She is sometimes said to be Adam's first wife. The opera is set in modern times.

Davis started working on the music for The Central Park Five in 2014. An early version was performed in 2016. The story for the opera was written by playwright Richard Wesley. The Central Park Five first played on June 15, 2019. It was performed by the Long Beach Opera Company in San Pedro, California. In 2020, this work won him the Pulitzer Prize for Music. He was the third professor from UCSD to win a Pulitzer. Davis said he was excited that his political music could make an impact on society. He learned he won the prize during a Zoom meeting with his colleagues.

In 2022, the Detroit Opera performed X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X. This was followed by the Metropolitan Opera's production of the same opera in 2023. It received excellent reviews from major newspapers and magazines.

Works

Anthony Davis has composed many pieces, including works for orchestras and operas for the stage.

Orchestral Works

These are pieces written for a large group of musicians playing different instruments.

• Wayang V (Piano Concerto, 1984) - A concerto is a piece for a solo instrument (here, the piano) and an orchestra.
• Maps (Violin Concerto, 1988) - This is a concerto for a solo violin and an orchestra.
• You Have the Right to Remain Silent (Clarinet Concerto, 2007) - A concerto for a solo clarinet and an orchestra.
• Amistad Symphony (2009) - A symphony is a long musical piece, usually for an orchestra.

Stage Works (Operas)

These are operas, which combine music, singing, and drama.

• X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X (1986), with a story by Thulani Davis.
• Under the Double Moon (1989), with a story by Deborah Atherton.
• Tania (1992), with a story by Michael John LaChiusa. This opera is about Patricia Hearst and events after she was kidnapped.
• Amistad (1997/revised 2008), with a story by Thulani Davis. It tells the true story of an 1839 slave mutiny.
• Wakonda's Dream (2007), with a story by Yusef Komunyakaa. This opera is about a modern Ponca family and their history.
• Lilith (2009), with a story by Allan Havis. It explores a figure from Jewish mythology.
• Lear on the 2nd Floor (2012), with a story by Allan Havis. This opera changes the story of King Lear to focus on a woman with Alzheimer's disease.
• The Central Park Five (2019), with a story by Richard Wesley.

Discography

A discography is a list of recordings made by a musician. Here are some of the albums where Anthony Davis was the main artist or played with other musicians.

As leader/co-leader

As sideman

Anthony Davis has also played as a sideman (a supporting musician) on many albums with other artists.

With Barry Altschul

• Another Time/Another Place (Muse, 1978)
• For Stu (Soul Note, 1979 [1981])

With Ray Anderson

• Blues Bred in the Bone (Enja, 1988)

With Anthony Braxton

• Six Compositions: Quartet (Antilles, 1982)

With Marion Brown

• Vista (Impulse!, 1975)

With Baikida Carroll

• Shadows and Reflections (Soul Note, 1982)

With Chico Freeman

• Kings of Mali

With Jay Hoggard

• Mystic Winds, Tropical Breezes (India Navigation, 1982)

With Leroy Jenkins

• The Legend of Ai Glatson (Black Saint, 1978)
• Space Minds, New Worlds, Survival of America (Tomato, 1979)

With George E. Lewis

• Homage to Charles Parker (Black Saint, 1979)

With Bobby Previte

• Hue and Cry (Enja, 1992)

With David Murray

• Ming (Black Saint, 1980)
• Home (Black Saint, 1982)
• David Murray Quintet (DIW, 1994)

With Wadada Leo Smith

• Reflectativity (Kabell, 1975)
• Song of Humanity (Kabell, 1977)
• Reflectativity (Tzadik, 2000)
• Golden Quartet (Tzadik, 2000)
• The Year of the Elephant (Pi, 2002)
• Ten Freedom Summers (Cuneiform, 2012)
• America's National Parks (Cuneiform, 2016)

See also

In Spanish: Anthony Davis (compositor) para niños