FIRST OFF . . .

East German conductor Gunther Herbig will succeed Andrew Davis as music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the orchestra announced Wednesday. Davis, who was in Toronto for 13 years, is returning to his native Britain to take over the BBC Symphony. Herbig has been music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra since 1984, but announced May 2 he would not return to the financially strapped ensemble after his contract expires in 1990. Born in Czechoslovakia of German parents, Herbig graduated in 1956 from the Franz Liszt Academy in Weimar, East Germany. He was principal guest conductor of the Dallas Symphony in 1979, then moved to Detroit in 1984 and has been guest conductor with all of the major American orchestras. “This community (Toronto) really cares for the arts. It’s exciting and a challenge to be offered this position and an honor to accept it,” Herbig told a news conference.