Bernard Haitink Tchaics

An early entry in Bernard Haitink’s Shostakovich cycle, this winning performance of the Fifteenth Symphony promised much for what was eventually to become a series greatly varied in quality and inspiration. It may be asking too much for a Western conductor to perform all of these symphonies with the same intensity and passion as might be shown by any of several Soviet counterparts, who were, after all, living and working under the same system that had so oppressed and threatened the composer. As for Symphony No. 15, its lesser degree of brutality than most of its predecessors makes it a good match for Haitink’s tidy conducting style.

This is the Schumann's Bicentennial year. There are many symphonic cycles to celebrate that, but very seldom we can find a truly great one along the whole of the 4 symphonies. Haitink's is one of these. Those are brilliant, solid and thrilling performances that show the mastery of maestro Haitink. Concertgebouw orchestra plays heavenly and sound by Philips is, one more time, a matter of admiration. Among cycles in modern and digital sound, this is one of the best choices.

Collection of all five Beethoven piano concertos, played by a young Vladimir Ashkenazy at the height of his piano-playing career. Accompanied by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the great conductor Bernard Haitink, this was a first for television.

Eduard van Beinum's 1958 account of the Water Music captures the magnificent wind section of the Concertgebouw Orchestra at its early post-War peak, and rather than fuss over every phrase and rhythm, as so many of today's "authenticists" do, Beinum offers lively harmonic and rhythmic support while encouraging his nonpareil players to really enjoy themselves–and do they ever! Listen to the those magnificently brazen but always golden-toned horns at the opening of the Menuet (Pomposo), the brilliant trumpets in the famous Alla Hornpipe, and the soulful oboes and bassoons in their many solo turns (the oboist in the Adagio e staccato deserves a standing ovation for that movement alone).

The Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra were linked by a long and intensive artistic collaboration, brought to an abrupt end by his death in October 2021. BR-KLASSIK now presents outstanding and as yet unreleased live recordings of concerts from the past years. This recording of Mahler's Seventh Symphony documents concerts from February 2011 in Munich’s Philharmonie im Gasteig. Haitink first conducted a Munich subscription concert in 1958, and from then on he repeatedly stood on the podium of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra – either in the Herkulessaal of the Residenz or in the Philharmonie im Gasteig.

The 1st and 9th complement each other perfectly, and this original pairing of the 9th with an equally fine performance of the 1st is a delight. The playing and acoustic of the Philharmonic is not as glorious as that of the Concertgebouw in some of Haitink's other Shostakovich recordings, but they acquit themselves quite well, capturing equally the light and the gloom, playfulness and tragedy, lyricism and satire that run through these both works.

For a long time, Anton Bruckner’s Sixth Symphony (together with his Second) was regarded as something of a “poor relation” in his immense symphonic oeuvre, even though the composer himself had moodily referred to it as his “boldest”. Over the decades, in view of its performance figures and recordings, this has changed significantly: The work has now secured itself a permanent place in the repertoire. The Sixth Symphony belongs to the creative process of the two preceding symphonies, the “Romantic” Fourth (1874/1880) and the Fifth (1875), and is now seen as an important preliminary stage in Bruckner’s last great upsurge that followed the composition of the “Te Deum” (the initial sketches of which date from 1881), and culminated in the sublime grandeur of his final symphonies, the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth.

For a long time, Anton Bruckner’s Sixth Symphony (together with his Second) was regarded as something of a “poor relation” in his immense symphonic oeuvre, even though the composer himself had moodily referred to it as his “boldest”. Over the decades, in view of its performance figures and recordings, this has changed significantly: The work has now secured itself a permanent place in the repertoire. The Sixth Symphony belongs to the creative process of the two preceding symphonies, the “Romantic” Fourth (1874/1880) and the Fifth (1875), and is now seen as an important preliminary stage in Bruckner’s last great upsurge that followed the composition of the “Te Deum” (the initial sketches of which date from 1881), and culminated in the sublime grandeur of his final symphonies, the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth. The “very solemn” Adagio of the Sixth Symphony, in particular, provided the model for the famous Adagio of the Seventh Symphony that followed it.

Claudio Arrau, one of the greatest piano masters of the s. XX, leaves us astonished with this intense and majestic version, showing his immense knowledge of German Romanticism of which he was an excellent exponent. Excellent temps and wonderful nuances. Here Bernard Haitink shows us why he became a benchmark in conducting by one of the best ensembles on the planet: the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra.

Claudio Arrau, one of the greatest piano masters of the s. XX, leaves us astonished with this intense and majestic version, showing his immense knowledge of German Romanticism of which he was an excellent exponent. Excellent temps and wonderful nuances. Here Bernard Haitink shows us why he became a benchmark in conducting by one of the best ensembles on the planet: the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra.