In this file photo from Friday, November 20, 2009, Chicago Symphony Orchestra principal conductor Bernard Haitink conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra in the Brahms Symphony No. One in Boston. (AP Photo / Steven Senne, File)

Bernard Haitink, a Dutch conductor of refinement and grace who conducted the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra for 27 years and held leadership positions in London, Chicago and Boston, died Thursday at his London home, announced its management agency. He was 92 years old.

Haitink was born in Amsterdam on March 4, 1929, studied violin and conducting at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, and made his conductor debut with the Netherlands Radio Union Orchestra on July 9, 1954.

He conducted his first performance with the Concertgebouw, the first orchestra of the Netherlands, on November 7, 1956, became co-principal conductor with Eugen Jochum in 1961 and sole principal conductor in 1963, a position he held until 1988. Under Under its mandate, the Concertgebouw was considered one of the greatest orchestras in the world alongside the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics.

Haitink was known for his flashless interpretations.

“Haitink’s approach was more passionate than threatening, thankfully lacking in weight,” wrote Associated Press critic Daniel J. Wakin after Brahms’ Symphony No. 2 with the Berlin Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall in New York in 1991.

Haitink developed a long and influential career in England, where he was conductor of the London Philharmonic from 1969 to 1979 and musical director of the Glynebourne Festival from 1978 to 1988.

He succeeded Colin Davis as Musical Director of the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, in 1987 and held the position until 2002. Highlights of his tenure included a colorful Graham Vick production of Verdi’s “Falstaff” who reopened the renovated Royal Opera House. in December 1999.

“If we have seen a lot of Haitink here in the concert hall and the opera house over the past three decades and more, this has been our gain as he is one of the foremost conductors of our time, a superbly natural musician who brings a rare combination of rigor and expressiveness to everything he discusses, ”Andrew Clements wrote in The Guardian before Haitink left Covent Garden. “Haitink’s performances have always been a reflection of the man himself: straightforward, unscrupulous and deeply truthful.

Haitink was Principal Conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 2006-2010, between terms of musical directors Daniel Barenboim and Riccardo Muti, and became Principal Guest Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1995-2004. also was principal conductor of the European Union Youth Orchestra from 1994 to 2000.

“His loss leaves a huge void in the music world,” Muti said in a statement.

Haitink has conducted 111 performances with the Vienna Philharmonic, making his debut in February 1972 and conducting the ensemble on tour in Costa Mesa, Calif., And Carnegie Hall in 2002. He conducted his last four concerts with this orchestra at the age of 90 from August 30 to September 6, 2019, Beethoven and Bruckner programs in Salzburg, Austria; London; and Lucerne, Switzerland.

Haitink has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards and won two, for opera recording in 2003 with the Royal Opera for Janácek’s “Jenufa” and for orchestral performance in 2008 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for the Symphony Shostakovich No. 4.

His recordings include Beethoven and Brahms symphonic cycles for the London Symphony Orchestra’s LSO Live label, as well as an extensive library for Phillips and EMI.