Gerald896
New member
We remember his immense contribution to musical life
Bernard Haitink, one of the preeminent conductors of our time, has died aged 92. The Chief Conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra for 27 years, a former Music Director of The Royal Opera, London and of Glyndebourne Festival Opera, a Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and conductor of more than 450 recordings, his legacy is immense. He was the recipient of Gramophone's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015.
Haitink was born on March 4, 1929 in Amsterdam, in which city he was tostudy violin and conducting at the Conservatory. He made his conducting debut with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic in 1954 and the following year, stepping in for an indisposed Carlo Maria Giulini, first conducted the Concertgebouw Orchestra. In 1959, following the death of Eduard van Beinum, he was named First Conductor of the orchestra: he was 30. Two years later he shared the title of Principal Conductor with Eugen Jochum and then, in 1963, became the Orchestra’s sole Musical Director. For the next 25 years – until stepping down in 1988 – he would develop one of those celebrated conductor-orchestra relationships that was, thankfully, enshrined on disc, largely by Philips. At the heart of a large and wide-ranging repertoire sat the great central works of the Austro-German literature.
Symphonies by Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann and Tchaikovsky followed, and Haitink also proved a superb concerto partner. He conducted the Beethoven piano concertos for Claudio Arrau, Murray Perahia (taking a Gramophone Concerto Award in 1986 for Nos 3 and 4) and András Schiff (with the Staatskapelle Dresden). When Haitink embraced French repertoire the results were ravishing and a recording that included Debussy’s Jeux and Nocturnes brought him two Gramophone Awards – Orchestral and Engineering – in 1980. As Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic from 1967 to ’79, he gave us Shostakovich symphonies and also proved himself a fine advocate of British composers such as Elgar, Walton and Vaughan Williams.
The late 1970s saw his first major engagement with opera: first at Glyndebourne (1978-88) and then, after Amsterdam, at the ROH (1987-2002) where his repertoire ranged from Mozart to Wagner. His 1983 Don Giovanni, with Thomas Allen in the title-role and based on performances at Glyndebourne, took the 1985 Gramophone Opera Award. Also for EMI, he recorded Wagner and Strauss.
A further period saw him taking on two major positions: as Chief Conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden (2002-4) and Principal Conductor of the Chicago Symphony (2006-10). Since then he went on to develop close relationships with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. He received honorary membership of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra – an ensemble he had first conducted in 1972 – in 2019, at which time he announced his retirement after 65 years at the podium. The following year he was the subject of a BBC profile by John Bridcut, Bernard Haitink: The Enigmatic Maestro. He died peacefully at home on October 21, surrounded by his wife and family.
Bernard Haitink, one of the preeminent conductors of our time, has died aged 92. The Chief Conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra for 27 years, a former Music Director of The Royal Opera, London and of Glyndebourne Festival Opera, a Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and conductor of more than 450 recordings, his legacy is immense. He was the recipient of Gramophone's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015.
Haitink was born on March 4, 1929 in Amsterdam, in which city he was tostudy violin and conducting at the Conservatory. He made his conducting debut with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic in 1954 and the following year, stepping in for an indisposed Carlo Maria Giulini, first conducted the Concertgebouw Orchestra. In 1959, following the death of Eduard van Beinum, he was named First Conductor of the orchestra: he was 30. Two years later he shared the title of Principal Conductor with Eugen Jochum and then, in 1963, became the Orchestra’s sole Musical Director. For the next 25 years – until stepping down in 1988 – he would develop one of those celebrated conductor-orchestra relationships that was, thankfully, enshrined on disc, largely by Philips. At the heart of a large and wide-ranging repertoire sat the great central works of the Austro-German literature.
Symphonies by Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann and Tchaikovsky followed, and Haitink also proved a superb concerto partner. He conducted the Beethoven piano concertos for Claudio Arrau, Murray Perahia (taking a Gramophone Concerto Award in 1986 for Nos 3 and 4) and András Schiff (with the Staatskapelle Dresden). When Haitink embraced French repertoire the results were ravishing and a recording that included Debussy’s Jeux and Nocturnes brought him two Gramophone Awards – Orchestral and Engineering – in 1980. As Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic from 1967 to ’79, he gave us Shostakovich symphonies and also proved himself a fine advocate of British composers such as Elgar, Walton and Vaughan Williams.
The late 1970s saw his first major engagement with opera: first at Glyndebourne (1978-88) and then, after Amsterdam, at the ROH (1987-2002) where his repertoire ranged from Mozart to Wagner. His 1983 Don Giovanni, with Thomas Allen in the title-role and based on performances at Glyndebourne, took the 1985 Gramophone Opera Award. Also for EMI, he recorded Wagner and Strauss.
A further period saw him taking on two major positions: as Chief Conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden (2002-4) and Principal Conductor of the Chicago Symphony (2006-10). Since then he went on to develop close relationships with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. He received honorary membership of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra – an ensemble he had first conducted in 1972 – in 2019, at which time he announced his retirement after 65 years at the podium. The following year he was the subject of a BBC profile by John Bridcut, Bernard Haitink: The Enigmatic Maestro. He died peacefully at home on October 21, surrounded by his wife and family.