Bernard Haitink: the most important conductor of our time?

In my new monthly essay for The Critic I make an attempt to assess the significance of the elusive Dutch conductor, who died last month – and it’s one dimension larger than I imagined:

… I was aware I was watching an outstandingly able maestro, one who had rare empathy for music and musicians. It took me longer to understand that the shy, unflashy Dutchman was a transformative conductor, changing the very nature of how music is made….

Haitink, though prolific on record, was not famous. When he asked why his sales did not match Karajan and Solti, producers urged him to give press interviews. But Haitink suffered from the Dutch tall poppy syndrome: raise your head high and it will be lopped off….

What was it that Haitink brought to conducting?…

Read on here.