De Waart takes over Hong Kong
Edo de Waart, chief conductor of the Netherlands Opera, has been appointed artistic director of the beleaguered Hong Kong Philharmonic. De Waart, 62, will take over this fall from Samuel Wong, whose tenure has been marred by controversial firings and resignations.
De Waart brings a reputation as a taskmaster who sometimes sacks players as he builds up orchestras. He has served as music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and, most recently, Australia’s Sydney Symphony, which he left early this year.
He began his career with the Royal Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra as an associate principal oboist. For three years in the 1960s, he was Leonard Bernstein’s assistant at the New York York Philharmonic, and he was also an early champion of the music of John Adams.
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Chris Pasles
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