Editing Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (section)

===1945–1988: Van Beinum and Haitink===
From 1945 to 1959, the orchestra's principal conductor was [[Eduard van Beinum]], who had debuted with the orchestra in 1929.  He had become the second conductor of the orchestra in 1931, and co-principal conductor in 1938.  One of his specialties was the symphonies of [[Anton Bruckner]], and Van Beinum made commercial recordings with the orchestra of Bruckner's Eighth and Ninth Symphonies for the [[Philips Records]] label. Van Beinum served as sole chief conductor of the orchestra after World War II until his sudden death on the Concertgebouw podium from a heart attack in April 1959.

[[Bernard Haitink]] made his debut with the Concertgebouw Orchestra on 7 November 1956. After Van Beinum's death, from 1961 to 1963, Haitink and [[Eugen Jochum]] shared the post of chief conductor of the orchestra.<ref>[[Dyneley Hussey|Hussey, Dyneley]], "The Musician's Gramophone" (May 1960).  ''The Musical Times'', '''101''' (1407): 303.</ref>  Haitink became sole chief conductor in 1963, and served in this post until 1988.  During Haitink's tenure, the conductor roster system was simplified to have an assistant conductor instead of first and second conductors.  Conductors who served in this capacity included [[Edo de Waart]] and [[Hans Vonk (conductor)|Hans Vonk]].  The recording profile of the orchestra increased most dramatically under Haitink, with many recordings for [[Philips Records]], as well as [[EMI]] and [[Columbia Records]].  

In the early 1980s, the Dutch government threatened the orchestra with reductions in its government subsidy that could potentially have led to the dismissal of 23 musicians from the orchestra.  Haitink threatened to resign in protest, and the financial situation was eventually settled.<ref>{{cite news | author=James R. Oestreich | title=An Eminently Rational Man In an Irrational Profession | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9506EEDF1330F933A25750C0A9649C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all | work=New York Times | date=10 March 2002 | access-date=30 October 2007}}</ref>  In addition, tensions had developed in the later years of Haitink's tenure between the orchestra management and Haitink, in particular between Haitink and then-artistic director Hein van Royen.<ref name="Koopman">[https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-51701-4_7 Koopman, Bert, "The Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra: Guardian of Symphonic Music", in ''Guardians of Public Virtue: How Public Organisations Become and Remain Institutions'' (Arjen Boin, Lauren A. Fahy, Paul 't Hart, editors). Palgrave Macmillan (2021).]</ref>  In 1999, Haitink was named the orchestra's conductor laureate (''eredirigent''), following a rapprochement negotiated by the then-new managing director of the orchestra, [[Jan Willem Loot]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.volkskrant.nl/mensen/de-onverstoorbaarheid-van-orkestdirecteur-willem-loot-1943-2021-leverde-hem-de-bijnaam-sfinx-op~b24745a6/ | title=De onverstoorbaarheid van orkestdirecteur Willem Loot (1943–2021) leverde hem de bijnaam Sfinx op | work=De Volksrant | author=Peter de Waard | date=22 February 2021 | access-date=22 October 2021}}</ref>  In March 2014, Haitink suggested to the Dutch newspaper ''[[Het Parool]]'' that he wished to renounce the title of RCO conductor laureate and no longer to guest-conduct the orchestra, in protest at the orchestra's current administrative management.<ref>{{cite news | author= | title=Haitink nooit meer bij Concertgebouworkest | url=http://www.parool.nl/parool/nl/12/CULTUUR/article/detail/3607156/2014/03/04/Haitink-nooit-meer-bij-Concertgebouworkest.dhtml | work=Het Parool | date=4 March 2014 | access-date=3 October 2014}}</ref>  In September 2015, the orchestra announced a rapprochement with Haitink, with a scheduled guest-conducting engagement with the KCO in the 2016–2017 season.<ref>{{cite press release | url=http://www.concertgebouworkest.nl/en/News/Press/2015-2016/Press-statement-Royal-Concertgebouw-Orchestra-and-Bernard-Haitink/ | title=Press Statement – Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Bernard Haitink | publisher=Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | date=2 September 2015 | access-date=3 September 2015 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018060618/http://www.concertgebouworkest.nl/en/News/Press/2015-2016/Press-statement-Royal-Concertgebouw-Orchestra-and-Bernard-Haitink/ | archive-date=18 October 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.volkskrant.nl/muziek/concertgebouw-toont-zich-de-wijste-in-kwestie-haitink~a4134193/ | title=Concertgebouw toont zich de wijste in kwestie-Haitink | work=De Volksrant | author=Guido van Oorschot | date=3 September 2015 | access-date=3 September 2015}}</ref>  Haitink retained the title of ''eredirigent'' with the orchestra through his 2019 retirement and until his death in October 2021.<ref>{{cite press release | url=https://www.concertgebouworkest.nl/nl/eredirigent-bernard-haitink-overleden | title=Eredirigent Bernard Haitink overleden | publisher=Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | date=22 October 2021 | access-date=22 October 2021}}</ref>