Bernard Haitink: Bernard Haitink in London

Bernard Haitink was always a familiar figure in London where was principal conductor of the London Philharmonic from 1967 to 1979 and was also seen at such prestigious British opera houses as Covent Garden and at Glyndebourne.

This, the second of three volumes covering Haitink’s complete recordings for Decca and Philips, focuses on his London years. The recordings cover a period of two decades, from 1967 (Dvořák with Heinrich Schiff) to 1986 (Rachmaninoff with Vladimir Ashkenazy).Many of the hallmarks of Haitink’s Concertgebouw recordings are present in these readings with the LPO. His unobtrusive authority – letting the score speak – was aptly summarised by Gramophone: “At no point is one remotely aware that the performance is being conducted. It simply is.”

As a London Philharmonic musician put it: ‘Playing for [Haitink] was akin to making chamber music, with everything going up so many levels as he became excited or, in more reflective music, took himself to some other celestial place.’

Haitink’s structural integrity and clarity of texture are to be witnessed in many places, including a Beethoven symphony cycle receiving the first digital/physical outing in its entirety, and the three major Stravinsky ballets. Another important survey, that of the Liszt tone poems, benefits from intensity and momentum. Likewise, the Shostakovich symphonies he recorded with the LPO focus on breadth rather than showmanship, yet build with inexorable momentum, as with the Tenth.

Aided by superbly recorded sound from the Philips and Decca engineers, Haitink’s approach prioritised transparency of texture, integrity of line and a sense of inevitability. There is no flashiness anywhere – instead, deep musical logic and commitment.”

Tracklist: CDs 1-6 BEETHOVEN: Symphonies Nos. 1-9

Overtures: Coriolan, Leonora No. 3; EgmontTriple Concerto (Beaux Arts Trio)
CDs 7-9 BEETHOVEN: Piano Concertos Nos. 1-5; Choral Fantasia
CD 10 DVOŘÁK: Cello Concerto; Silent Woods; Rondo in G minor
CD 11 HOLST: The PlanetsELGAR: Enigma Variations
CDs 12-15 LISZT: Tone Poems
CD 16 LISZT: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2; Totentanz
CDs 17-18 MENDELSSOHN: Symphonies Nos. 1, 3 ‘Scottish’, 4 & 5 ‘Reformation’

Overtures: Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt; The Hebrides
CD 19 MOZART: Overtures
CD 20 RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Scheherazade

RACHMANINOFF: Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini (Vladimir Ashkenazy)
CDs 21-26 SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphonies Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10 & 15; The Golden Age – Suite
CDs 27-28 STRAVINSKY: The Firebird; Petrushka; The Rite of Spring
CDs 29-31 VERDI: Don Carlo