Waart, Edo (actually,Eduard)

Waart, Edo (actually, Eduard ) de, noted Dutch conductor; b. Amsterdam, June 1,1941. He began piano lessons as a child and at 13 began to study the oboe. He pursued training at the Amsterdam Muziek-lyceum as an oboe and cello student (1957-62; graduated, 1962), and also studied conducting with Dean Dixon in Salzburg (summer, 1960). In 1962-63 he was an oboist in the Amsterdam Phil., and then played in the Concertgebouw Orch. in Amsterdam. He also studied conducting with Franco Ferrara in Hilversum, where he made his debut as a conductor with the Netherlands Radio Phil. in 1964. That same year, he was a co-winner in the Mitropoulos Competition in N.Y. and then served as an asst. conductor of the N.Y. Phil. (1965-66). In 1966 he became asst. conductor of the Concertgebouw Orch., which he accompanied on its 1967 tour of the U.S. He first attracted notice with his Netherlands Wind Ensemble, with which he toured and recorded. In 1967 he became a guest conductor of the Rotterdam Phil. In 1969 he made his British debut as a guest conductor with the Royal Phil. of London in Folkestone. In 1971 he toured the U.S. with the Rotterdam Phil. and also made his first appearance as an opera conductor in the U.S. in Santa Fe. In 1974 he was a guest conductor with the San Francisco Sym., and in 1975 he was named its principal guest conductor. He made his debut at London’s Covent Garden in 1976 conducting Ariadne auf Naxos. In 1977 he became music director of the San Francisco Sym., which he conducted in a gala concert at the opening of its new Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in 1980. In 1979 he made his first appearance at the Bayreuth Festival. He resigned as music director of the San Francisco Sym. in 1986 and served in that capacity with the Minn. Orch. in Minneapolis until 1995. From 1988 he also was artistic director of the Dutch Radio Orch. in Hilversum. He likewise served as chief conductor of the Sydney Sym. Orch. from 1993. De Waart’s objective approach to interpretation, combined with his regard for stylistic propriety and avoidance of ostentatious conductorial display, makes his performances of the traditional and contemporary repertoire particularly appealing.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire