Bernard Haitink, R.I.P.

[Russell]

Bernard Haitink has passed away at age 92.  His early Philips recordings with the Concertgebouw and the London Philharmonic were touchstones for me in my formative years of listening to classical music.  I learned much of the basic repertoire, including the Mahler and Bruckner symphonies, through those recordings, many of which I still cherish today. His performances were always straightforward and no-nonsense, letting the music "speak for itself".  I only saw him conduct once--doing the M7 in SF's Davies Hall with the Concertgebouw on tour many years ago.  It was glorious, despite a few surprising fluffs from the orchestra.  R.I.P.

https://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical%20music%20news/article/conductor-bernard-haitink-has-died-aged-92

Russell

[Leo K]

What a great tribute - couldn’t of said it any better. Rest In Peace.

[shawn]

I always think (and thought) of Bernard Haitink as the least controversial Mahler conductor, his recordings always impeccably paced and balanced. Not emotional or expressive in the extreme, but a steady middle way. And I mean that as a compliment. Sometimes I got the feeling people took him for granted, but instead he was a major contributor to the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. My only regret is that Haitink never went on to record any Sibelius or Prokofiev in general, or Vaughan Williams in Amsterdam. In any other way he was extremely versatile.

He will be missed, even though he retired two years ago...

[barryguerrero]

Here is Haitink's April of 1988 performance of Mahler 8. I think it's much better than his studio one, especially for the "Chorus Mysticus" and orchestral postlude. I'm not sure the entire "Blicket auf" section has ever been done any better than this. Some felt that Arleen Auger should have been soprano 1 and Gwyenth Jones soprano 2, but it's a moot point. In fact, I think they got it right the first time. The picture is dark and dim, but the sound is quite good. Now that B.H. has passed on, maybe someone will issue this. Philips should have pushed to have it included in their Kerstmatinee set. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjbc5qrFJK8