Van Beinum was born in Arnhem, Netherlands, where he received his first violin and piano lessons at an early age.

As a student at the Amsterdam Conservatoire, van Beinum gained conducting experience with several concerts by amateur ensembles in Schiedam and Zutphen.

[2] After World War II, Mengelberg was dismissed as principal conductor because of controversy over his (still-disputed) behavior and attitude towards the Nazi occupiers in the Netherlands.

In 1947, van Beinum became principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO), but left after two successful seasons.

[3] In general, van Beinum suffered from health problems, including a heart condition, which left him unable to conduct for much of the 1950–1951 season of the Concertgebouw Orchestra.

[5] In 1956, the year of van Beinum's 25th anniversary with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, he was invested as a Grand Officer of the Order of Orange Nassau, and also received an honorary doctorate from the University of Amsterdam.

On 13 April 1959, van Beinum suffered a fatal heart attack on the Concertgebouw podium while rehearsing the orchestra for a performance of Johannes Brahms' Symphony No.