Conductor Edo de Waart (82) steps down

[Herman]

This week Edo de Waart announced he's stepping down from conducting. He's been working non-stop for sixty years, at the Rotterdams Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Minnesota, Sydney Symphony, and, again, the Dutch Radio Philharmonic and as he got up last Wednesday, he felt he couldn't do it anymore.

[Brian]

Hope he enjoys a well-deserved retirement. He is truly one of the last remaining connections to a generation we now think of as the "greats" - he recorded with Grumiaux!

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Any particular favorite repertoire in which you all enjoy his recordings?

[Karl Henning]

Any particular favorite repertoire in which you all enjoy his recordings?

As a student of the late Chas Wuorinen, I'm very grateful for this recording of the Mass for the Restoration of St Luke's and Genesis.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

As a student of the late Chas Wuorinen, I'm very grateful for this recording of the Mass for the Restoration of St Luke's and Genesis.

Oh, cool!  I must admit though that I've heard of him but don't know any of his music. 

[Brian]

Any particular favorite repertoire in which you all enjoy his recordings?

He took after his old boss Bernard Haitink in that he was so modest and so in service to the music that he didn't seem to have a "specialty" so much as an ability to do right by anything. He's a great accompanist to the amazing Zoltan Kocsis Rachmaninov piano concerto set, he does an outstanding job in the premiere recordings of most of John Adams' work, I have a very satisfying Wagner album of his on Exton, the Saint-Saens Organ Symphony with San Francisco and Jean Guillou is a classic, early in his career he was involved in a lot of Dutch wind ensemble recordings of Mozart serenades...versatile guy.

[Mandryka]

When I first started to post on forums like this I was  interested in the Gran Partita and someone - maybe @Herman in fact - put me on to his. It's special. Apart from that I remember some Mahler, a Das Lied von der Erde with Loraine Hunt Lieberson. 

My mother, who died at 94, once said to me that she felt like a young girl until she was about 80, and then suddenly she woke up and realised that she was a young girl no longer. I guess Edo de Waart had a similar experience!

[ritter]

As a student of the late Chas Wuorinen, I'm very grateful for this recording of the Mass for the Restoration of St Luke's and Genesis.

That Mass is a beautiful work. Great recording!

I must admit I have little by Edo de Waart in my collection. Some rabid Mahlerite friends of mine love his Mahler recordings.

I did see him live, though. Well, I didn't actually see him conduct, because he was in the covered pit of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus. 1979 was his only summer there (and my first visit to the festival, as a teenager).  He conducted the new production (by Götz Friedrich) of Lohengrin.

[Herman]

early in his career he was involved in a lot of Dutch wind ensemble recordings of Mozart serenades...versatile guy.

De Waart started as a oboist in the Concertgebouw, in 1963, only briefly, before winning the Dimitri Mitropoulos Award for conducting.

One of the special things of EdW is his view of all music as contemporary. So he liked to conduct new stuff, but he brought that attitude to late romantic music. Other than that he liked working with singers.

[Luke]

His John Adams disc are very important to me. Harmonium, in particular, changed my life really.

[Mapman]

When I first started to post on forums like this I was  interested in the Gran Partita and someone - maybe @Herman in fact - put me on to his. It's special.

I'm not familiar with much of de Waart's work, but I do have his Gran Partita (with NWE). It's a wonderful recording of a great work (and what immediately came to mind when this thread was posted).

[Spotted Horses]

He took after his old boss Bernard Haitink in that he was so modest and so in service to the music that he didn't seem to have a "specialty" so much as an ability to do right by anything. He's a great accompanist to the amazing Zoltan Kocsis Rachmaninov piano concerto set, he does an outstanding job in the premiere recordings of most of John Adams' work, I have a very satisfying Wagner album of his on Exton, the Saint-Saens Organ Symphony with San Francisco and Jean Guillou is a classic, early in his career he was involved in a lot of Dutch wind ensemble recordings of Mozart serenades...versatile guy.

You're referring to this, I assume



Lovely set.

[Florestan]

[ritter]

...

Ah yes, with the great Rafael Orozco! I really admire his pianism, but not enough as to buy a Rachmaninov CD! 

[Florestan]

Ah yes, with the great Rafael Orozco! I really admire his pianism, but not enough as to buy a Rachmaninov CD! 

Your loss, but as we Romanians say, what does a peasant know about saffran? 

Ce ştie ţăranul ce este şofranul?

[Leo K.]

I saw de Waart conduct the Mahler 7 in Minneapolis in the late 90's. Great concert!

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

His John Adams disc are very important to me. Harmonium, in particular, changed my life really.

That's a good one. I also heard him conduct an industrial-strength Heldenleben at Ravinia in the 90s.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Ah yes, with the great Rafael Orozco! I really admire his pianism, but not enough as to buy a Rachmaninov CD! 

You don't like Rachmaninoff [image and sound of woman fainting]?!

Just teasing you Ritter. 😉  Salts though, please.

PD

[mahler10th]

He did a very good Mahler set - I just looked for it and it is nowehere - I had it in 2008, but lost it in an incident.  I remember it to be a sonically close and present set, an honest appraisal of Mahlers Symphonies which sounded good.  It's just so hard to find now.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

He did a very good Mahler set - I just looked for it and it is nowehere - I had it in 2008, but lost it in an incident.  I remember it to be a sonically close and present set, an honest appraisal of Mahlers Symphonies which sounded good.  It's just so hard to find now.

I suspect that you might do better buying them individually than purchasing the set (listed for over $400 USD on Amazon!).  Or maybe just purchase your favorite ones?  Or see if there might be plans to put out a boxed set of his (or some of his) recordings?

PD