Classics of the Phonograph

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

 
The Concertgebouw in 1902

The Concertgebouw in 1902 By Jacob Olie. - http://beeldbank.amsterdam.nl/afbeelding/10019A000899, Public Domain

What happens when a star maestro leaves an orchestra, succeeded by a relatively unknown conductor? Well, that happened in Amsterdam in 1945 when the world famous Willem Mengelberg was fired from the podium of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam. He was replaced by Eduard van Beinum, a fine musician, but unknown outside of Holland.

On this week’s Classics of the Phonograph, Saturday at 11 am on WILL-FM 90.9, we will hear some recordings by these two conductors of one of the world's finest orchestras.