Bernard Haitink
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| Bernard Haitink | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Born | March 4, 1929, Amsterdam, Netherlands | |
| Genre(s) | Classical Music | |
| Occupation(s) | Conductor of Western Classical Music | |
| Years active | 1955 - present | |
Bernard Johan Herman Haitink CH KBE (born March 4, 1929) is a Dutch conductor, born in Amsterdam, the son of Willem Haitink and Anna Haitink[1]. He studied music at the conservatoire in Amsterdam. He played the violin in orchestras before taking courses in conducting under Ferdinand Leitner in 1954 and 1955.
Haitink became Second Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Union Orchestra in 1955. He took the post of Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic in 1957. His conducting debut with the Concertgebouw Orchestra (now the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra) was on November 7, 1956, substituting for an indisposed Carlo Maria Giulini. After the sudden death of Eduard van Beinum, Haitink was named 'First Conductor' of the Concertgebouw Orchestra on 1 September 1959. He became Chief Conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1961, and shared that position jointly with Eugen Jochum until 1963 (other reports have stated 1964). Haitink then served as sole Chief Conductor until 1988. In 1999, he was named the Honorary Conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Outside of the Netherlands, Haitink was principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra from 1967 to 1979. Haitink also served as the music director at Glyndebourne Opera from 1978 to 1988. He held the same position at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden from 1987 to 2002.[2] He has since formally stated that he will no longer conduct opera[3]. From 2002 to 2004, he was chief conductor of the Dresden Staatskapelle.
As a guest conductor, Haitink has served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1995-2004, when he took on the new title of Conductor Emeritus. In addition, he has appeared with the Orchestre National de France and London Symphony Orchestra and made several recordings with them, in addition to his long associations with the Vienna Philharmonic and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestras. Haitink is an Honorary Member of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
In April 2006, after an acclaimed two-week engagement in March 2006 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), the CSO appointed Haitink to the newly created position of Principal Conductor, beginning with the start of the 2006-2007 season.[4] The duration of the contract is four years.[5] With respect to this contract, Haitink stated that "every conductor, including myself, has a sell-by date."[6]
In 1977 he was awarded an honorary knighthood in the Order of the British Empire (KBE) and in 2002 he was created an honorary Companion of Honour (CH).[1] More recently, Musical America named Haitink its 2007 "Musician of the Year".
Haitink has conducted a wide variety of repertoire, with the complete symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Anton Bruckner, Gustav Mahler, Dmitri Shostakovich and the complete piano concertos of Beethoven and Brahms with Claudio Arrau notable among his recordings. In November 2006, the CSO announced a new radio and recording initiative, which will include a recording taken from Haitink's performances with the CSO in October 2006[7] [8] of the Symphony No. 3 of Gustav Mahler.
Haitink has five children from his first marriage to Marjolein Snijder. He and his fourth wife, the former Patricia Bloomfield, a barrister and past viola player in the Covent Garden Opera orchestra, have a home in Switzerland.1
[edit] References
- ^ Nicholas Wroe, "Master of the House". The Guardian, 14 October 2000.
- ^ Andrew Clements, "A great musician - but that was not enough". The Guardian, 21 June 2002.
- ^ Martin Kettle, 'I started far too young. I still have sleepless nights ...'. The Guardian, 5 March 2004.
- ^ Andrew Patner, "Symphony in good hands". Chicago Sun-Times, 15 October 2006.
- ^ Daniel J. Wakin, "Arts, Briefly; Chicago Symphony: Conductors but No Music Director". New York Times, 28 April 2006.
- ^ James R. Oestreich, "A Jet-Setting Maestro Sets a Brisker Pace for Beethoven". New York Times, 6 October 2006.
- ^ John von Rhein, "Haitink, CSO make magic with Mahler". Chicago Tribune, 20 October 2006.
- ^ Andrew Patner, "Haitink brings out magic, mystery of Mahler's Third". Chicago Sun-Times, 21 October 2006.
| Preceded by Paul van Kempen |
Principal Conductor, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra 1957–1961 |
Succeeded by Jean Fournet |
| Preceded by Eduard van Beinum |
Chief Conductor, Concertgebouw Orchestra 1961–1988 |
Succeeded by Riccardo Chailly |
| Preceded by John Pritchard |
Principal Conductor, London Philharmonic Orchestra 1967–1979 |
Succeeded by Georg Solti |
| Preceded by Vittorio Gui |
Music Director, Glyndebourne Opera Festival 1978–1988 |
Succeeded by Andrew Davis |
| Preceded by Colin Davis |
Music Director, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden 1987–2002 |
Succeeded by Antonio Pappano |
| Preceded by Colin Davis |
Principal Guest Conductor, Boston Symphony Orchestra 1995–2004 |
Succeeded by none |
| Preceded by Giuseppe Sinopoli |
Principal Conductor, Dresden Staatskapelle 2002–2004 |
Succeeded by Fabio Luisi (designate) |
