Bernard Haitink was born in Amsterdam in 1929 and studied at the music conservatory there. In 1955 he became second conductor of the Netherlands Radio Orchestra and in 1961 principal conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, where he remained until 1988. Haitink conducted other renowned orchestras, including the London Philharmonic and the Dresden 'Staatskapelle'. He served as music director of the Royal Opera Covent Garden and the Glyndebourne Festival Opera. In 1977 Haitink was granted an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth. At the beginning of the 2006/2007 season he will become the new conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In March/April 2007 the Berlin 'Rundfunkchor' will have the honour of performing Beethoven's Missa solemnis under Haitink's baton.
