The career of the Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink, who died in 2021 at the age of 92, began at the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, where he became Principal Conductor in 1957. It was one year earlier, at the age of just 27, that he first conducted the orchestra with whom he would later have a long and highly successful collaboration: the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam. From 1961 to 1988, Bernard Haitink was the famous orchestra’s Musical Director and Principal Conductor, a position he initially shared with Eugen Jochum. Other positions held by him included Music Director and Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (1967–1979), the Glyndebourne Festival Opera (1978–1988), the Royal Opera House Covent Garden (1988–2002), the Staatskapelle Dresden (2002–2004), and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (2006–2010). In addition, he was “Conductor Emeritus” of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, “Patron” of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, “Conductor Laureate” of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and also an honorary member of the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras and of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Bernard Haitink enjoyed a regular and cordial working relationship with the Symphonieorchester and Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks ever since his first performance with them in 1958, and this resulted in numerous highly acclaimed record releases. The complete recording of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, made between 1988 and 1991, ranks as a milestone to this day. Many other high-profile recordings have been combined inside the 11-CD box set, “Bernard Haitink Portrait Vol. 1”, released by BR-KLASSIK in 2019 to mark the 90th birthday of its esteemed guest conductor. The edition contains Symphonies Nos. 3, 4 and 9 by Mahler, Nos. 5 and 6 by Bruckner, Beethoven’s Missa solemnis and Haydn’s Creation and The Seasons. The live recording of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony was awarded the ECHO Klassik 2013 and the Toblacher Komponierhäuschen prize; Beethoven’s Missa solemnis won the Diapason d’or 2015; and Mahler’s Third Symphony won the BBC Music Magazine Award 2018 (Recording of the Year / Orchestral Winner). In February 2024, Bernard Haitink, the BRSO and the Bavarian Radio Chorus were awarded a Choc Classica for their recording of Anton Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony and Te Deum. Bernard Haitink received numerous honours and awards for his decades of work in music. He bore the title “Knight of the British Empire” and was a “Companion of Honour” of the United Kingdom. In 1991, the Erasmus award – the highest cultural award of the Netherlands – was conferred on him, and in 2007 the magazine Musical America named him “Musician of the Year”. He was a holder of the Order of the House of Orange-Nassau and of the Order of the Netherlands Lion (Commander). In 2015, Bernard Haitink received the Gramophone Lifetime Achievement Award. In September 2019, after a conducting career spanning 65 years, Bernard Haitink took his leave of the concert stage.