Eduard van Beinum
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Eduard van Beinum (September 3, 1900, Arnhem – April 13, 1959, Amsterdam) was a Dutch conductor. His grandfather was conductor of a military band. His father played the double bass in the local symphony orchestra, the Arnhemse Orkest (later Het Gelders Orkest). Beinum received his first violin and piano lessons at an early age, and joined the Arnhem Orchestra as violinist in 1918. His brother Co van Beinum was a violinist, and the two brothers performed as a violin-piano duo in concerts. As a student at the Amsterdam Conservatoire, he gained conducting experience with several concerts by amateur ensembles in Schiedam and Zutphen. He also conducted concerts by the choir of the church of St. Nicholas in Amsterdam.
Van Beinum was the conductor of the Haarlem Orchestral Society from 1927 to 1931. He first conducted the Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam in 1929. He became second conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1931, under the supervision of Willem Mengelberg. In 1938 he was named co-principal conductor, alongside Mengelberg. After World War II, Mengelberg was dismissed from the principal conductorship of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, over the controversy over his (still-disputed) behavior and attitude towards the Nazi occupiers in the Netherlands. According to Kees Wisse, Van Beinum "detested the Nazis and kept himself as aloof as he could." (ref 1) Van Beinum did receive a reprimand after the de-Nazification activities post-war, but this was not so severe as to keep him from his post with the Concertgebouw. Van Beinum remained as sole principal conductor of the orchestra after the war.
In 1947 he took over the leadership of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO), but left after two successful seasons. According to Michael Kennedy in his biography of Sir Adrian Boult, Van Beinum was "not well", which led the LPO to seek Boult as a successor to him. In general, Van Beinum suffered from health problems, including a heart condition, which left him unable to conduct for much of the 1950-1951 season of the Concertgebouw Orchestra. He also served as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 1956-1959.
Van Beinum suffered a massive, fatal heart attack on April 13, 1959 on the Concertgebouw podium while rehearsing the Concertgebouw Orchestra for a performance of Brahms' First Symphony. He was buried in Garderen, located in the Veluwe region, where he had maintained a residence. After his death, the Eduard van Beinum Foundation was established in 1960.
Beinum was married to Sepha Jansen, a violinist with the Concertgebouw Orchestra. Their son, Bart van Beinum, has published a book about his father, Eduard van Beinum, over zijn leven en werk, in 2000. Van Beinum's recordings with the Concertgebouw Orchestra can be found on the Philips and Decca labels.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
(1) Wisse, Kees, notes to Q-Disc Issue "Eduard Van Beinum: The Radio Recordings", Q-Disc (translated Lodewijk Odé, Ko Kooman and Chris Gordon)
| Preceded by Willem Mengelberg |
Chief Conductor, Concertgebouw Orchestra 1945–1959 |
Succeeded by Bernard Haitink |
| Preceded by Thomas Beecham |
Principal Conductor, London Philharmonic Orchestra 1947–1950 |
Succeeded by Adrian Boult |
| Preceded by Alfred Wallenstein |
Music Director, Los Angeles Philharmonic 1956–1959 |
Succeeded by Zubin Mehta |
 |
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