Bernard Haitink

Acclaimed conductor Bernard Haitink CH KBE was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands on March 4, 1929. It was in Amsterdam where he studied violin and conducting at the city's conservatory. He began playing violin in orchestras prior to concentrating on the art of conducting whereupon he studied under the renowned German conductor Ferdinand Leitner. Bernard Haitink's conducting debut was in 1954 with the Netherlands Radio Union Orchestra and, within three years, he became the chief conductor of the orchestra. His services became in demand all over Europe including with the Dutch Concertgebouw Orchestra, widely acknowledged to be one of the world's finest ensembles. Bernard Haitink became a principal conductor of the Concertgebouw in 1961, a post he held securely until the early '80s when he threatened his resignation from the orchestra over proposed funding cuts from the Dutch government. The financial situation was eventually resolved, and he remained in the position until 1988. Outside the Netherlands, Bernard Haitink has been closely involved with many of the top American orchestras while closer to home he became a principal conductor of the London Philharmonic, a post which led to an honorary knighthood. Later, he went on to become director of the Glyndebourne Opera and the Royal Opera House. For the remainder of his life, Bernard Haitink remained a key figure in the international classical music community. During his career, he recorded an impressive catalog of titles including Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 (1965), Mozart: Die Zauberflöte (1981), Strauss: Daphne (1983), Mahler: Symphony No. 3 (1988), Stravinsky: The Great Ballets (1993), Shostakovich: Symphony No. 8 (2000), Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 (2013), and Brahms: Choral Works (2016). Bernard Haitink died on October 21, 2021, at the age of 92.

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