Throughout his long and illustrious career, renowned Dutch conductor Edo de Waart has held a multitude of posts with orchestras worldwide, including music directorships with the San Francisco Symphony and San Francisco Opera, Minnesota Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and a chief conductorship with De Nederlandse Opera. He also has held posts with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Santa Fe Opera.
At the end of the 2020-21 season, de Waart celebrated his 80th birthday with a series of special concerts with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, with whom he holds the position of conductor laureate.
In the 2021-22 season, de Waart celebrates his third year as principal guest conductor of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra and continues his role as conductor laureate of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra. He will return to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to conduct an all-Tchaikovsky program and to Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra to lead Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9. Additionally, he will make returns to the Minnesota Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, with which he also holds the position of music director laureate.
As an opera conductor, de Waart has enjoyed success in a large and varied repertoire in many of the world’s greatest opera houses. He has conducted at Bayreuth, Royal Opera House/Covent Garden, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Opéra Bastille, Santa Fe Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. With the aim of bringing opera to broader audiences where concert halls prevent full staging, he has as music director in Milwaukee, Antwerp and Hong Kong often conducted semi-staged and opera in concert performances.
A renowned orchestral trainer, he has been involved with projects working with talented young players at the Juilliard and Colburn schools, and the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara.
De Waart’s extensive catalog encompasses releases for Philips, Virgin, EMI, Telarc and RCA. Recent recordings include Henderickx’s Symphony No. 1 and Oboe Concerto, Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 and Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius, all with the Royal Flemish Philharmonic.
Beginning his career as an assistant conductor to Leonard Bernstein at the New York Philharmonic, de Waart then returned to Holland, where he was appointed assistant conductor to Bernard Haitink at the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Edo de Waart has received many awards for his musical achievements, such as a Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion and an Honorary Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.
2021
