By Rebecca Franks

Published: Friday, 22 October 2021 at 12:00 am


 We’re celebrating the life of the great Dutch conductor, Bernard Haitink, with a look at some of his greatest recordings.

Bernard Haitink, who conducted his first concert in 1954, was chief conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra for 27 years. He’s played a significant role in UK musical life over his 65-year career, holding positions with Glyndebourne Opera, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Opera House. And with recordings ranging from Haydn to Ravel, Beethoven to Shostakovich, there’s a lifetime of Haitink’s genius to explore.

Brilliant Beethoven

Bernard Haitink recorded complete cycles of both Beethoven’s and Brahms’s Symphonies with the London Symphony Orchestra, one of the best orchestras in the world. The Beethoven series, recorded at the Barbican, is ‘one of the most distinguished that has appeared in recent decades’, according to our critic Michael Tanner. LSO Live LSO0598