Remembering Bernard Haitink, the anti-glamour conductor
Boston-based radio producer Brian Bell remembers Bernard Haitink, and the meticulous approach to music that defined one of the finest conductors of the past half-century.
Bernard Haitink didn't fit the mold of a superstar conductor. He was the antithesis of flamboyant, a solid professional, a cool exterior that housed a solid knowledge developed over decades of study and practice. Yet his concerts were such that he is on the short list of the finest conductors of the past half-century.
It was 50 years ago when I first heard the fabulous and recordings he made with the on the Philips label. I still have them. They appealed to that is absolutely perfect with Haitink, and not with anyone who recorded the work before that.
