Dutchman's Debut

The Philadelphia Orchestra had a new guest conductor last week. His name: Eduard van Beinum, principal leader for the past eight years of Amsterdam's famed Concertgebouw Orchestra. The concert was Van Beinum's first in the U.S. (it was his first visit to the country as well), and the 53-year-old Dutchman got bravos and raves from critics, audience and the musicians themselves. Beamed one orchestra member: "The boys are daffy about him."

Van Beinum's first concert (of seven) was typical: Haydn's lighthearted Symphony No. 96, Anton Bruckner's somber Symphony No. 7. Each gave the conductor plenty of opportunity to show his capabilities, and his reading of the long, difficult Bruckner work gave the audience some special excitement. Wrote one critic of Van Beinum's style: "Refreshingly free from excessive gesticulations . . . His cues are crisp and clear, his beat firm, and his authority is absolute. His conducting is intensely individual. He knows what he wants, and gets it."

Van Beinum, who went to the Concertgebouw under famed Willem Mengelberg in 1931, took over the orchestra after the difficult war years and reconstructed it. For several years he also commuted to London's Philharmonic as a principal conductor, but gave that assignment up when the strain of his double-conducting load became too great. The Concertgebouw's regular season is taxing enough: more than 100 programs in eight months. What really bothers Van Beinum, however, is playing festival concerts. "I don't like it," he says. "I play all year. Why have a special festival to play the same thing?" Van Beinum's short stint with the Philadelphia is giving him a useful chance "to sniff the air, feel around," for he will be bringing the 100-man Concertgebouw Orchestra to the U.S. next fall for a 42-concert tour. Van Beinum is eager to get started, and hopes that his men will learn to enjoy barnstorming. "In Amsterdam," he explains, "the musician who lives farthest from the hall is just 15 minutes away on a bicycle. Once every three weeks we go to The Hague for a concert --a 43-minute trip." And he laughs: "The next day, the orchestra is very tired."

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