In praise of Haitink
Michael Henderson
There was a unique event in Amsterdam last week, and the musiclovers who heard it felt a special glow. Bernard Haitink returned to the Concertgebouw, the orchestra with which he will forever be associated, and which he first conducted 50 years ago, to celebrate his ‘golden anniversary’ of music-making with a pair of symphonies by the ‘house’ composer, Gustav Mahler.
Since orchestral life became organised 150 years ago, and the conductor assumed a more prominent role than mere timebeater, no person has worked with an ensemble for 50 years, so it really was a celebration. The programme Haitink conducted in November 1956, when he stood in for Carlo Maria Giulini, featured, somewhat improbably, a Cherubini Mass and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. This time he occupied more familiar territory, for no orchestra has a more distinguished Mahler tradition than the Concertgebouw, and perhaps only one conductor, Claudio Abbado, is as well versed in this music as Haitink.
In the first half he conducted Das Lied von der Erde, Mahler’s song-cycle symphony, with the Swedish alto Anna Larsson, rather more convincing than the American tenor Robert Dean Smith (even though she buried her head in the score during the Abschied). For the Fourth Symphony, with its child’s view of Paradise, conductor and orchestra were joined by the German soprano Christine Schafer. It was a long night, carried live on Dutch television, and a memorable one.
The musicians played ravishingly, right across the stage, and the audience played its part, too, listening intently and responding with a warmth that never became indulgent. It was a moving evening, with lengthy, heartfelt ovations, but not a sentimental one. Well done, the Dutch.
While the Concertgebouw develops afresh under the baton of ‘Magnificent’ Mariss Jansons, Haitink, who was its music director between 1964 and 1988, remains honorary conductor. This celebration of a great partnership followed hard upon his first concerts in an important new role, principal conductor of the Chicago Symphony, an appointment he took up when Daniel Barenboim left America’s Second City in June.
Though his primary association is with the Amsterdamers, Haitink, 77, remains a much-loved figure in this country. He spent a decade as the music director of both Glyndebourne and the London Philharmonic, and enjoyed a further 16 seasons at the Royal Opera House. Next year he returns to Covent Garden for the first time since his farewell in 2002, to conduct a revival of Parsifal. He can expect another tumultuous reception.
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