Sir Colin has been the Principal Conductor of the LSO since 1995 and is also Principal Guest Conductor of the New York Philharmonic and Honorary Conductor of the Dresden Staatskapelle. Last season he conducted a new production of Idomeneo with the Dresden Staatsoper, visited New York for Elgar's Dream of Gerontius and gave a cycle of Czech music with the LSO "Bohemian Spring". In the summer he performed Bach's St Matthew Passion for the Cheltenham Festival and the Berlioz Requiem in St Paul's Cathedral with the LSO for the City of London Festival.

Sir Colin begins this season with a Prom concert with the LSO and then a series of Mozart Piano Concertos with Uchida and the LSO, coupled with all the symphonies of Edward Elgar. In November he will conduct Mozart's Cosi fan Tutte at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. In December he conducts all the Mozart Violin Concertos with Anne Sophie Mutter and the LSO at the Barbican and in the New Year he returns to Covent Garden for Don Giovanni.

Sir Colin will appear with the New York Philharmonic in concert performances of Mozart's Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail and with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam with a Sibelius programme. At Easter he tours with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain of which he is President.

Sir Colin Davis has recorded widely with Phillips, BMG and Erato. Many of the recent Berlioz concerts have been recorded on the LSO Live label and have been very well received. The last one to be released was The Trojans which came out in July. Sir Colin has also recorded Verdi arias with Barbara Fritolli and the LSO and Weber arias with Karita Mattila and the Dresden Staatskapelle, both for Erato. He also recorded the Dvorak Violin Concerto with Sarah Chang and the LSO for EMI.

Sir Colin has been awarded international honours by Italy, France, Germany and Finland. Most recently he was made Officier dans L'Ordre National de Legion d'Honneur in 1999, awarded the Maximiliansorden of the Federal Land of Bavaria in 2000 and was named a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2001.

During his career Sir Colin conducted the BBC Scottish Orchestra, moved on to Sadler's Wells in 1959 and spent four years as Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1967. He became Music Director of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in 1971 and also Principal Guest Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1972. Sir Colin spent the years 1983 - 1992 with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and has been Honorary conductor of the Dresden Staatskapelle since 1990.

Sir Colin Davis was born in Weybridge, Surrey in 1927.