Hartmut Haenchen (1943) was born in Dresden and began his musical career as a member of the famous Dresdner Kreuzchor.
Hartmut Haenchen
Dirigent
His musical talent was so great that he also regularly conducted the choir as a fifteen-year-old. He studied orchestral conducting and singing at the conservatory in his hometown. He won his first prize in 1971 at the Carl Maria von Weber Wettbewerb. In the years that followed, he was the head of various orchestras and opera companies, including the Dresdner Philharmoniker and the Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Kammerorchester.
This union has been invaluable. His opera productions at the Dutch National Opera were acclaimed and praised worldwide. The highlight was Wagner's complete Ring des Nibelungen, directed by Pierre Audi, which was repeated over several seasons. Haenchen conducted the Netherlands Philharmonic in the Concertgebouw more than 800 times. In 1996, he was appointed Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion for his great services to the Dutch National Opera and the Netherlands Philharmonic & Netherlands Chamber Orchestra.
Hartmut Haenchen is an extremely sought-after conductor all over the world. He has conducted concerts as a guest conductor with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. He has also conducted at famous opera houses such as the Royal Opera Covent Garden in London, the Opéra National de Paris, the Teatro Real in Madrid, the Deutsche Oper in Berlin and La Scala in Milan. In 2017, the magazine Opernwelt named Haenchen conductor of the year and in 2018 he received the Richard Wagner Prize from the Richard Wagner Foundation Leipzig. In 2015, Der Himmel über Dresden, a documentary about his life, was awarded a Golden Palm. He is currently the principal guest conductor of the North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra.
To add luster to Hartmut Haenchen's career and his eightieth birthday, Haenchen has been named honorary conductor of the Netherlands Philharmonic. In the coming years, he will conduct several Bruckner symphonies.
“Hartmut Haenchen is without a doubt one of the greatest Wagner conductors of our time.”
- Opernwelt