Bernard Haitink's valedictory 90th Prom, Royal Albert Hall

Bernard Haitink's farewell to the Proms  -photo credit Peter Le Tissier

Bernard Haitink's 90th Prom and his official farewell to London, conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra with Emmanuel Ax in Beethoven Piano Concerto no 4 op 58 and Bruckner Symphony no 7. Haitink did the same programme in Salzburg on Saturday (still avalable here on Takt1).  On Friday, he conducted it again from Lucerne Festival (audio only link on NPO Radio 4)   The programmes might be identical but the emotional experience was so strong it din't matter in the least.. I've been listening over and over this week, can't bear to stop. Words aren't sufficient to express the intense feelings Haitink's farewell awakes.  For many of us there never was a time when Haitink wasn't a presence in our listening lives. Some of us can remember when he was young !  My heart tore, as he walked off the Royal Albert Hall stage, gently accompanied by the Leader of the Wiener Philharmoniker.  There went a giant, though he looked so old and frail.

And yet the musicianship was as powerful, and personal as ever.  Such fluidity and poise, such elegance and emotional depth.  Bruckner shone : as if infused by the composer's faith in life as much as in God.  Such freedom of spirit and energy !  Please read Colin Stuart Clarke's review here on Robert Hugill's blog, it's beautifull written).

Haitink conducts favourite pieces over and over again, always looking for some new insight, some new way of engaging with the composer and the work. That's what true artists do. As Mahler said "The music lies not only in the notes". The differences might be imperceptible, but every performance is individual. Just as we all change day by day without hardly being aware, performance is a form of connecting to life and to the creative power that is music. Earlier this year, in Munich, Haitink was so unwell that he only conducted the second half of the programme, Beethoven 9, which he could probably conduct in his sleep, but Haitink does not do autopilot..  Tired as he looked, once the music got going,  it seemed to invigorate  him with renewed energy : the flow of the music like the flow of life through one's veins.  (Please read more about that here).

In March at the Barbican London, he conducted the London Symphony Orchestra, with which he has been associated for decades, in two concerts - Mozart Piano Concerto no 22 with Till Fellner, and Bruckner Symphony no 4. (Please read my review here) and  Dvořák Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 53 (B.108),with Isabelle Faust and Gustav Mahler Symphony no 4. (Please read more about that here). This last Prom at the Royal Albert Hall was valedictory - his 90th Proms appearance, probably a record of some kind for a non BBC conductor.  Memories of past Haitink Proms flooded back, indelibly etched in the memory.  Please scroll down to the label "Haitink" below for other performances).  He's conducted the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam 1500 times, and many times the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic orchestra, where he began conducting way back in 1954, to which he returned when he could.  And of course, Vienna, Berlin, Munich, Lucerne, Salzburg and so much else !  In London, we've been extraordinarily lucky to have had him as Chief of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (1967-79), a frequent and much loved guest at the London Symphony Orchestra, with the Glyndebourne Festival Orchestra from 1978, (where he was spotted in the audience this summer) and at the Royal Opera House. I remember the world's slowest Parsifal - but it worked, since the Grail Comminity is semi comatose part of the time.  the world will not be quite the same without Haitink's understated brilliance and depth.

Refreshed and reinvigorated : Haitink at 90 - Mozart, Bruckner

Bernard Haitink, LSO 10/3/19 photo : Sylvia Haotong Wong

Bernard Haitink at 90 : honoured by the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbicua, London: as honour for the audience, too, not only in the hall but internationally, online.  A true Haitink programme : Mozart Piano Concerto no 22 with Till Fellner, and Bruckner Symphony no 4.  Haitink was looking much less exhausted than he did in Munich (Please read more here) where he had conducted several concerts in a row : at 90, anyone deserves a rest !  Most people couldn't conduct like this, even in their dreams.   A truly classic performance, with the depth and sensitivity that are hallmarks of Haitink's style, where the music shines, not the conductor. Haitink channels the composer, inspiring his players to give of their best.

Absolute poise from Fellner, the richness in his playing adding sparkle, supported by the LSO. This is what "classical balance" means : equanimity, elegance, civilization. Virtues which in these venal, mendacious times we need to cherish all the more.  Not long ago someone said to me "No-one listens any more to Mozart and Bach". I thought, "No wonder trolls are taking over the world".   Haitink reminds us that sensitivity and intelligence are what make us decent human beings.  In that context, Haitink's Bruckner shone with the nobility one might associate with Beethoven, warmed by the humility that lies at the heart of Bruckner.  This symphony is like a cathedral : beautifully shaped and proportioned, with little personal quirks embedded, all dedicated in the service oif some higher power, whether that power is God, or music itself.  I'm noit 90 - yet - but I came away refreshed and reinvigorated.

Can't wait til Thursday when Haitink returns to the LSO with Dvořák Piano Concerto (Isabelle Faust, another Haitink regular) and Mahler Symphony no 4 (Anna-Lucia Richter, whose first London recital I heard at the Wigmore Hall way back when - she's proved her promise! I will write more about her Schubert CD Heimweh, shortly)

Bruckner dances ! Bartók, Debussy - Roth, LSO Barbican

François-Xavier Roth conducted the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican in:Debussy, Bartók, and Bruckner. Roth has a flair for designing thought-provoking programmes that stimulate the mind as well as the spirit.  He's also a good communicator whose enthusiasm inspires listeners as well as musicians - no surprise he's now the LSO's Chief Guest Conductor.

All music is "new" in that good music is original. Hence the value of making connections that enhance the unique qualities of each work.  Debussy Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune was a breakthrough. Though we hear it so often, it's bracing to remember that it was written 123 years ago. It defies categories. Its exoticism stretches tonality, its chromatics at once rich, yet clean and modern. Think of fin de siècle art with its curving forms, against chaste backdrops.  The Prélude lends itself to dance because it is sensuous, yet also lucidly disciplined.  You don't mess with dance or it falls apart. No chance of that with the LSO and Roth.

From the familiar to the much less familiar: Bartók Viola Concerto sz 120 with soloist Antoine Tamestit.  A bit of an orphan work,  revised and completed, perhaps to fit conventional taste. But the point is not whether one likes or dislikes a piece so much as figuring out how it works.  Oddly enough, I kept thinking of Gérard Grisey Les espaces acoustiques. Though the pieces are completely different, they both explore the character of the viola.  Hence the combinations: viola, then flutes and oboes, the viola suddenly strident, communing with trumpets, then horns.  There are elements of dance, Gypsy czardas, Scottish reels and even, possibly jazz.  Perhaps I thought of Grisey because Roth and the LSO prefaced Bartók with Debussy, priming me to think in terms of microtonal colour. "spectralism" to use the buzz word.  By this stage in his life, Bartók wasn't in a position to innovate, but we can get a glimpse of what might have been.

And so to Bruckner Symphony no 4. As so often the title "Romantic" is misleading.  It's not romantic in the sense of Hollywood and not even in the sense of Wagner.  Note the instrumentation, which is relatively limited.  Consider the use of horns and rustic imagery.  Aha! Bruckner's doing Weber Der Freischütz, or even Beethoven's Pastoral, even Smetana, in entirely his own way, of course. Thus the passionate tremelos and the sense of physical movement. Bruckner, dancing!  The relatively restrained forces of the LSO keep the textures vigorous and lively. Very well suited to Roth's energetic style.