Sober in his interpretations, and considered one of the greatest orchestra leaders of his generation, the Maestro died at 92 years old.
Le Monde with AFP
The Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink, celebrated for reading the works of Beethoven, Mahler and Bruckner throughout a career that was spread over more than sixty years, died at home in London, In the presence of his family, Thursday, October 21, Askonas Holt, the British society manages his interests.
Bernard Haitink was known for his modesty despite his celebrity and for his modesty in the way he led his orchestra without ever trying to make him shadow.
Born in Amsterdam, he first started playing the violin before learning the direction of orchestra. He debuted in 1954 at the head of the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Netherlands Radio. In 1956, he first runs the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra before becoming the leader for a relationship that will last more than twenty years.
At the head of the world’s largest orchestras
Bernard Haitink becomes in 1967 the principal leader of London Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he will occupy for more than ten years. It is not its only link to the British orchestras; He was also from 1987 to 2002 the Music Director of the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. He has led the greatest orchestras, from Chicago Symphony Orchestra, at the Boston Symphony Orchestra, through the London Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Philarmonic Orchestra.
Bernard Haitink also produced more than 450 recordings without forgetting to be a “passionate mentor” for the younger generations he devoted time for teaching or proposed masterclasses, recalled Askonas Holt.
He was a knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in France and Commander of the Lion Order of the Netherlands. Married four times, he had five children from his first marriage.