Dutch Conductor Edo de Waart Announces Retirement

The renowned conductor made the announcement after a six decade long career

HarrisonParrott recently announced that Dutch conductor Edo de Waart's career will come to an end.

The occasion was marked with a celebration in the city of Hilversum with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra — where he was Principal Conductor from 1989 to 2004 and today retains the title of Conductor Laureate.

His career began as an Assistant Conductor to Leonard Bernstein at the New York Philharmonic. He then returned to Holland where he was appointed Assistant Conductor to Bernard Haitink at the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

After those initial appointments, de Waart has held Music Directorships with the San Francisco Symphony and San Francisco Opera, the Minnesota Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. He also served as the Chief Conductor of De Nederlandse Opera, along with posts at the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Santa Fe Opera.

As an opera conductor, de Waart Music Director in Milwaukee, Antwerp, and Hong Kong. He has conducted productions at Bayreuth, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Opéra Bastille, Santa Fe Opera, and The Metropolitan Opera.

De Waart’s extensive recording catalog includes releases for the Philips, Virgin, EMI, Telarc, and RCA labels.

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.

Jasper Parrott, Harrison Parrott Executive Chairman, wrote that, ​“at a very early stage in the establishment of HarrisonParrott in the early 1970s I was fortunate in meeting and then bonding with Edo as he ignited a new and exciting era for classical music both as the charismatic Chief of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and of the brilliant and unruly Netherlands Wind Ensemble.

"His groundbreaking brilliance felt like the perfect partner for Terry Harrison and me in our disruptive search for change in the staid and static world of that time. I am proud to honour him as a great master of his art, for his inspiring leadership around the world in promoting and inspiring such a vast and inclusive repertoire of great music.”