Revered conductor Daniel Barenboim blew away audiences and critics alike when he brought his Staatskapelle Berlin to the Sydney Opera House last year for a complete Brahms symphony cycle. The outspoken musician, a fierce advocate for music education and peace in the Middle East (founding the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra with that in mind), was lauded for his passionate speech following the second concert in Sydney, dedicating the performance to “the first creative inhabitants of this continent.”

Daniel Barenboim conducting the Staatskapelle Berlin at the Sydney Opera House. Photo © Peter Adamik

An article published by VAN Magazine, The Titan’s Shadow, however, paints a picture of a darker side to Barenboim’s success, apparently drawing on interviews with current and former staff, musicians and administrators.

“In musical circles, Barenboim’s temper is legendary,” allege the writers, Jerffrey Arlo Brown and Hartmut Welscher. “He has thrown fits because a violist rolled his eyes, because a singer bowed in the wrong place, because a favoured principal player was on vacation. He once berated a musician who lacked concentration because someone in their immediate family had died. He has insulted...