Bernard Haitink |

Bernard Haitink

Willem Mengelberg, Bruno Walther, Pierre Monte, Eduard van Beinum, Eugen Jochum – this is a brilliant list of artists who led the famous Concertgebouw orchestra in Amsterdam in the XNUMXth century. The fact that a few years ago this list was replenished with the name of the young Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink is already quite eloquent in itself. At the same time, the appointment to such a responsible post was also a recognition of his talent, the result of a successfully launched and very rapid career.

Bernard Haitink graduated from the Amsterdam Conservatory as a violinist, but after that he began to attend the conducting courses of the Netherlands Radio, which were conducted by F. Leitner in Hilversum. He practiced as a conductor at the Stuttgart Opera, under the guidance of his teacher. Back in 1953, Haitink was a violinist in the Hilversum Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, and in 1957 he headed this group and worked with it for five years. During this time, Haitink mastered a huge number of works, performed with all the orchestras of the country, including several times over the years, at the invitation of Beinum, at the Concertgebouw console.

After the death of Beinum, the young artist shared the post of chief conductor of the orchestra with the venerable E. Jochum. Haitink, who did not have sufficient experience, did not immediately manage to win the authority of the musicians and the public. But two years later, critics recognized him as a worthy successor to the work of outstanding predecessors. An experienced team fell in love with their leader, helped to mature his talent.

Today Haitink firmly occupies a place among the most gifted representatives of the young European conductors. This is confirmed not only by his successes at home, but also by touring performances in major centers and festivals – in Edinburgh, Berlin, Los Angeles, New York, Prague. Many of the young conductor’s recordings have been highly acclaimed by critics, including Mahler’s First Symphony, Smetana’s poems, Tchaikovsky’s Italian Capriccio, and Stravinsky’s Firebird suite.

The conductor’s talent is versatile, it attracts with clarity and simplicity. “Whatever he conducts,” writes the German critic W. Schwinger, “the feeling of freshness and captivating naturalness does not leave you.” His taste, sense of style and form are especially pronounced in the performance of Haydn’s late symphonies, his own The Four Seasons, the symphonies of Schubert, Brahms, Bruckner, Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet. He often performs Haitink and works by contemporary Dutch composers – H. Badings, van der Horst, de Leeuw and others. Finally, his first opera productions, The Flying Dutchman and Don Giovanni, were also successful.

L. Grigoriev, J. Platek, 1969

He was Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra from 1967 to 1979 and Artistic Director of the Glyndebourne Opera Festival from 1978 to 1988. In 1987-2002, Haitink headed the famous London Opera House Covent Garden, then for two years he directed the Dresden State Chapel, but in 2004 he terminated the four-year contract due to disagreements with the intendant (director) of the chapel on organizational issues. From 1994 to 2000 he led the European Union Youth Orchestra. Since 2006 Haitink has been Principal Conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; the first season of work brought him in 2007 the title of “Musician of the Year” according to the association of professional musicians “Musical America”.