Hans Vonk (conductor)

Hans Vonk (born June 18, 1942 in Amsterdam ; † August 29, 2004 there ) was a Dutch conductor .

Hans Vonk studied piano and orchestral conducting at the Amsterdam Conservatory . He then attended courses with Hermann Scherchen in Siena, Salzburg and Hilversum. From 1966 to 1969 he was the conductor of the Dutch National Ballet until Bernard Haitink brought him to the Concertgebouw as an assistant for the period 1969 to 1973 . In 1973 Vonk took over the direction of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Radio Hilversum (until 1979). From 1976 he was music director of the Dutch Opera and deputy director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra . In 1980 he took over the residency orchestra in The Hague. From 1985 to 1990 he was chief conductor of the Dresdner Staatskapelle and the Dresden Semperoper . From 1991 to 1997 Vonk worked as chief conductor of the WDR symphony orchestra . Vonk was music director and conductor of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra in his last professional position . He gave up this position in 2002 after about six years due to health problems. Vonk suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Web links

• Works by and about Hans Vonk in the catalog of the German National Library
• Solid trustee of the music. Kölnische Rundschau , August 30, 2004
• Conductor Hans Vonk has died. Music market , August 30, 2004