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"This is a Ring you cannot be without."
Fanfare Brought up in the former East Germany, Hartmut Haenchen has seen his career reborn in the new Europe, where his breadth of experience and depth of understanding have won respect while audiences have warmed to the humanity of his interpretations. He is particularly renowned and respected for his interpretations of Richard Strauss, Wagner, and Mahler.
Despite the severe restrictions of the old East German regime, Haenchen was given special permission to work with the West's finest ensembles, including the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
Continual interference by the authorities, however, led to severe setbacks in his career and he subsequently made his home in the Netherlands, where a new public recognized his genius, and where he eventually became Music Director of both the Netherlands Philharmonic and the Netherlands Opera.
In October 2008 he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit of the German Republic in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the arts.
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)