Daniel Barenboim

Daniel Barenboim

Daniel Barenboim in Vienna, 2008
Born (1942-11-15) 15 November 1942
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Citizenship Argentine, Israeli, Palestinian, Spanish
Occupation Pianist and conductor
Religion Jewish
Spouse(s) Jacqueline du Pré (1967–1987, her death)
Elena Bashkirova (m. 1988; 2 children)
Awards Otto Hahn Peace Medal (2010)
Website www.danielbarenboim.com
Daniel Barenboim's voice
from the BBC Reith Lecture, 7 April 2006.[1]

Daniel Barenboim, KBE (German: [baːrənboim], Hebrew: דניאל ברנבוים; born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born pianist and conductor who is a citizen of Argentina, Israel and Spain. He is general music director of the Berlin State Opera, and the Staatskapelle Berlin; he previously served as Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris and La Scala in Milan.[2] Barenboim is known for his work with the West–Eastern Divan Orchestra, a Seville-based orchestra of young Arab and Israeli musicians, and as a resolute critic of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

Barenboim has received many awards and prizes, including an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire,[3] France's Légion d'honneur both as a Commander and Grand Officier, and the German Großes Bundesverdienstkreuz and Willy Brandt Award.[4] Together with the Palestinian-American scholar Edward Said, he was given Spain's Prince of Asturias Concord Award. He has won seven Grammy awards for his work and discography. Barenboim is a polyglot, fluent in Spanish, Hebrew, English, French, Italian, and German.

Biography

Daniel Barenboim, age 11, with composer Eithan Lustig and the Gadna Youth orchestra (1953)

Daniel Barenboim was born in 1942 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Argentinian-Jewish parents, Aida (née Schuster) and Enrique Barenboim.[5] He started piano lessons at the age of five with his mother, continuing to study with his father, who remained his only teacher. On 19 August 1950, at the age of seven, he gave his first formal concert in his hometown, Buenos Aires.

In 1952, Barenboim's family moved to Israel. Two years later, in the summer of 1954, his parents took him to Salzburg to take part in Igor Markevitch's conducting classes. During that summer he also met and played for Wilhelm Furtwängler, who has remained a central musical influence and ideal for Barenboim.[6] Furtwängler called the young Barenboim a "phenomenon" and invited him to perform the Beethoven First Piano Concerto with the Berlin Philharmonic, but Barenboim's father considered it too soon after the Second World War for a child of Jewish parents to be performing in Berlin.[7] In 1955 Barenboim studied harmony and composition with Nadia Boulanger in Paris.

On 15 June 1967, Barenboim and British cellist Jacqueline du Pré were married in Israel at a Western Wall ceremony, Du Pré having converted to Judaism.[8] Acting as one of the witnesses was the conductor Zubin Mehta, a long-time friend of Barenboim. Since "I was not Jewish I had to temporarily be renamed Moshe Cohen, which made me a 'kosher witness'," Mehta recalled.[9] Du Pré retired from music in 1973, after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). The marriage lasted until du Pré's death in 1987.

In the early 1980s, Barenboim began an affair with the Russian pianist Elena Bashkirova, with whom he has two sons born in Paris before du Pré's death: David Arthur, born 1983, and Michael, born 1985. Barenboim worked to keep his relationship with Bashkirova hidden from du Pré, and believed he had succeeded. He and Bashkirova married in 1988. Both sons are part of the music world: David is a manager-writer for the German hip-hop band Level 8, and Michael Barenboim is a classical violinist.[10]

Multi-national citizenship

Barenboim holds citizenship of Argentina, Israel,[11] Palestine,[12] and Spain. He lives in Berlin.[13]

Career

U.S. concert performance at age 15 (January 1958)

After performing in Buenos Aires, Barenboim made his international debut as a pianist at the age of 10 in 1952 in Vienna and Rome. In 1955 he performed in Paris, in 1956 in London, and in 1957 in New York under the baton of Leopold Stokowski. Regular concert tours of Europe, the United States, South America, Australia and the Far East followed thereafter.

In June 1967, Barenboim and his then fiancée Du Pré gave concerts in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and Beersheba before and during the Six-Day War.[14] His friendship with musicians Itzhak Perlman, Zubin Mehta, and Pinchas Zukerman, and marriage to du Pré led to the 1969 film by Christopher Nupen of their performance of the Schubert "Trout" Quintet.[15]

Following his debut as a conductor with the English Chamber Orchestra in Abbey Road Studios, London, in 1966, Barenboim was invited to conduct by many European and American symphony orchestras. Between 1975 and 1989, he was music director of the Orchestre de Paris, where he conducted much contemporary music.

Barenboim made his opera conducting debut in 1973 with a performance of Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Edinburgh Festival. He made his debut at Bayreuth in 1981, conducting there regularly until 1999. In 1988, he was appointed artistic and musical director of the Opera-Bastille in Paris, scheduled to open in 1990, but was fired in January 1989 by the opera's chairman Pierre Bergé.[16] Barenboim was appointed music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, a post he held until 17 June 2006. He expressed frustration with the need for fund-raising duties in the United States as part of being a music director of an American orchestra.[10]

(l-r) Peter Kirchner, President of Germany Richard von Weizsäcker, and Barenboim visit Jewish cemetery in Berlin-Weissensee (1990)

Since 1992, Barenboim has been music director of the Berlin State Opera and the Berlin Staatskapelle, succeeding in maintaining the independent status of the State Opera. He has tried to maintain the orchestra's traditional sound and style.[17] In autumn 2000 he was made conductor for life of the Berlin Staatskapelle.[18]

On 15 May 2006 Barenboim was named principal guest conductor of La Scala opera house, in Milan, after Riccardo Muti's resignation.[19] He subsequently became music director of La Scala in 2011.[20]

In 2006, Barenboim presented the BBC Reith Lectures, presenting a series of five lectures titled In the Beginning was Sound. The lectures on music were recorded in a range of cities, including London, Chicago, Berlin, and two in Jerusalem.[21] In the autumn of 2006, Barenboim gave the Charles Eliot Norton Lectures at Harvard University, entitling his talk Sound and Thought.[22]

In November 2006, Lorin Maazel submitted Barenboim's name as his nominee to succeed him as the New York Philharmonic's music director.[23] Barenboim said he was flattered but "nothing could be further from my thoughts at the moment than the possibility of returning to the United States for a permanent position",[24] repeating in April 2007 his lack of interest in the New York Philharmonic's music directorship or its newly created principal conductor position.[25] Barenboim made his conducting debut on 28 November 2008 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York for the House's 450th performance of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde .

In 2009, he conducted the New Year Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic.[26] In his New Year message, he expressed the hope that 2009 would be a year for peace and for human justice in the Middle East.[27]

He conducted the Vienna Philharmonic again for New Year's Day 2014. That year construction began on the Barenboim–Said Academy in Berlin. A joint project Barenboim developed with Palestinian-American scholar Edward Said, the academy was planned as a site for young music students from the Arab world and Israel to study music and humanities in Berlin.[28] It is scheduled to open its doors in late 2016.

Musical style

Barenboim has rejected musical fashions based on current musicological research, such as the authentic performance movement. His recording of Beethoven's symphonies shows his preference for some conventional practices, rather than fully adhering to Bärenreiter's new edition (edited by Jonathan Del Mar).[29] Barenboim has opposed the practice of choosing the tempo of a piece based on historical evidence, such as composer metronome marks. He argues instead for finding the tempo from within the music, especially from its harmony and harmonic rhythm. He has reflected this in the general tempi chosen in his recording of Beethoven's symphonies, usually adhering to early-twentieth-century practices. He has not been influenced by the faster tempos chosen by other conductors such as David Zinman and authentic movement advocate Roger Norrington.

In Barenboim's recording of The Well-Tempered Clavier, he makes frequent use of the right-foot sustaining pedal, a device absent from the keyboard instruments of Bach's time (although the harpsichord was highly resonant), producing a sonority very different from the "dry" and often staccato sound favored by pianist Glenn Gould. Moreover, in the fugues, he often plays one voice considerably louder than the others, a practice impossible on a harpsichord. According to some scholarship, this practice began in Beethoven's time (see, for example, Matthew Dirst's book Engaging Bach). When justifying his interpretation of Bach, Barenboim claims that he is interested in the long tradition of playing Bach that has existed for two and a half centuries, rather than in the exact style of performance in Bach's time:

The study of old instruments and historic performance practice has taught us a great deal, but the main point, the impact of harmony, has been ignored. This is proved by the fact that tempo is described as an independent phenomenon. It is claimed that one of Bach's gavottes must be played fast and another one slowly. But tempo is not independent! … I think that concerning oneself purely with historic performance practice and the attempt to reproduce the sound of older styles of music-making is limiting and no indication of progress. Mendelssohn and Schumann tried to introduce Bach into their own period, as did Liszt with his transcriptions and Busoni with his arrangements. In America Leopold Stokowski also tried to do it with his arrangements for orchestra. This was always the result of "progressive" efforts to bring Bach closer to the particular period. I have no philosophical problem with someone playing Bach and making it sound like Boulez. My problem is more with someone who tries to imitate the sound of that time…[30]

Recordings

In the beginning of his career, Barenboim concentrated on music of the classical era, as well as some romantic composers. He made his first recording in 1954. Notable classical recordings include the complete cycles of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert's piano sonatas, and Mozart's piano concertos (in the latter, taking part as both soloist and conductor). Romantic recordings include Brahms's piano concertos (with John Barbirolli), Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words, and Chopin's nocturnes. Barenboim also recorded many chamber works, especially in collaboration with his first wife, Jacqueline du Pré, the violinist Itzhak Perlman, and the violinist and violist Pinchas Zukerman. Noted performances include: the complete Mozart violin sonatas (with Perlman), Brahms's violin sonatas (live concert with Perlman, previously in the studio with Zukerman), Beethoven's and Brahms's cello sonatas (with du Pré), Beethoven's and Tchaikovsky's piano trios (with du Pré and Zukerman), and Schubert's Trout Quintet (with du Pré, Perlman, Zukerman, and Zubin Mehta).

Notable recordings as a conductor include: the complete symphonies of Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Schubert and Schumann, the Da Ponte operas of Mozart, numerous operas by Wagner, including the complete Ring Cycle, and various concertos. Barenboim has written about his changing attitude to the music of Mahler;[31] he has recorded Mahler's Fifth, Seventh and Ninth symphonies and Das Lied von der Erde. He has also performed and recorded the Concierto de Aranjuez by Rodrigo and Villa-Lobos guitar concerto with John Williams as the guitar soloist.

By the late 1990s, Barenboim had widened his concert repertoire, performing works by baroque as well as twentieth-century classical composers. Examples include: J.S. Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier (which he has played since childhood) and Goldberg Variations, Albeniz's Iberia, and Debussy's Préludes. In addition, he turned to other musical genres, such as jazz,[32] and the folk music of his birthplace, Argentina. He conducted the 2006 New Year's Eve concert in Buenos Aires, in which tangos were played.[33]

Barenboim has continued to perform and record chamber music, sometimes with members of the orchestras he has led. Some examples include the Quartet for the End of Time by Messiaen with members of the Orchestre de Paris during his tenure there, Richard Strauss with members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the Clarinet Trio of Mozart with members of the Berlin Staatskapelle.

Conducting Wagner in Israel

The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra had performed Richard Wagner's music in Palestine even during the early days of the Nazi era.[34] But after the Kristallnacht,[35] Jewish musicians avoided playing Wagner's music in Israel because of the use Nazi Germany made of the composer and because of Wagner's own anti-Semitic writings,[36] initiating an unofficial boycott.

This informal ban continued when Israel was founded in 1948, but from time to time unsuccessful efforts were made to end it.[37] In 1974[38] and again in 1981 Zubin Mehta planned to (but did not) lead the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in works of Wagner. During the latter occasion, fist fights broke out in the audience.[39]

Barenboim, who had been selected to head the production of Wagner's operas at the 1988 Bayreuth Festival,[40] had since at least 1989 publicly opposed the Israeli ban. In that year, he had the Israel Philharmonic "rehearse" two of Wagner's works.[41] In a conversation with Edward Said, Barenboim said that "Wagner, the person, is absolutely appalling, despicable, and, in a way, very difficult to put together with the music he wrote, which so often has exactly the opposite kind of feelings... noble, generous, etc." He called Wagner's anti-Semitism obviously "monstrous," and feels it must be faced, but argues that "Wagner did not cause the Holocaust."

In 1990, Barenboim conducted the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in its first appearance in Israel, but he excluded Wagner's works. "Although Wagner died in 1883, he is not played [in Israel] because his music is too inextricably linked with Nazism, and so is too painful for those who suffered," Barenboim told a reporter. "Why play what hurts people?"[42] Not long afterwards, it was announced that Barenboim would lead the Israel Philharmonic in two Wagner overtures,[43] which took place on 27 December "before a carefully screened audience."[44]

In 2000, the Israel Supreme Court upheld the right of the Rishon LeZion Orchestra to perform Wagner's Siegfried Idyll.[45] At the Israel Festival in Jerusalem in July 2001, Barenboim had scheduled to perform the first act of Die Walküre with three singers, including tenor Plácido Domingo. However, strong protests by some Holocaust survivors, as well as the Israeli government, led the festival authorities to ask for an alternative program. (The Israel Festival's Public Advisory board, which included some Holocaust survivors, had originally approved the program.)[46] The controversy appeared to end in May, after the Israel Festival announced that a selection by Wagner would not be included at the 7 July concert.[47] Barenboim agreed to substitute music by Schumann and Stravinsky.

However, at the end of the concert with the Berlin Staatskapelle, Barenboim announced that he would like to play Wagner as a second encore and invited those who objected to leave, saying, "Despite what the Israel Festival believes, there are people sitting in the audience for whom Wagner does not spark Nazi associations. I respect those for whom these associations are oppressive. It will be democratic to play a Wagner encore for those who wish to hear it. I am turning to you now and asking whether I can play Wagner." A half-hour debate ensued, with some audience members calling Barenboim a "fascist". In the end, a small number of attendees walked out and the overwhelming majority remained, applauding loudly after the performance of the Tristan und Isolde Prelude.[48]

In September 2001, a public relations associate for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, where Barenboim was the Music Director, revealed that season ticket-holders were about evenly divided about the wisdom of Barenboim's decision to play Wagner in Jerusalem.[49]

Barenboim regarded the performance of Wagner at the 7 July concert as a political statement. He said he had decided to defy the ban on Wagner after having a news conference he held the previous week interrupted by the ringing of a mobile phone to the tune of Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries.[50] "I thought if it can be heard on the ring of a telephone, why can't it be played in a concert hall?" he said.[51]

A Knesset committee subsequently called for Barenboim to be declared a persona non-grata in Israel until he apologized for conducting Wagner's music.[52] The move was condemned by the musical director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra Zubin Mehta and members of Knesset.[53] Prior to receiving the $100,000 Wolf Prize, awarded annually in Israel, Barenboim said, "If people were really hurt, of course I regret this, because I don’t want to harm anyone".[54]

In 2005, Barenboim gave the inaugural Edward Said Memorial Lecture at Columbia University, entitled "Wagner, Israel and Palestine".[55] In the speech, according to The Financial Times, Barenboim "called on Israel to accept the Palestinian 'narrative even though they may not agree with it'," and said, "The state of Israel was supposed to provide the instrument for the end of anti-Semitism... This inability to accept a new narrative has led to a new anti-Semitism that is very different from the European anti-Semitism of the 19th century.".[56] According to The New York Times, Barenboim said it was the "fear, this conviction of being yet again the victim, that does not allow the Israeli public to accept Wagner’s anti-Semitism... It is the same cell in the collective brain that does not allow them to make progress in their understanding of the needs of the Palestinian people", and also said that suicide bombings in Israel "had to be seen in the context of the historical development at which we have arrived".[57] The speech caused controversy; the Jewish Telegraphic Agency wrote that Barenboim had "compared Herzl's ideas to Wagner's; criticized Palestinian terrorist attacks but also justified them; and said Israeli actions contributed to the rise of international anti-Semitism".[58]

In March 2007, Barenboim said: "The whole subject of Wagner in Israel has been politicized and is a symptom of a malaise that goes very deep in Israeli society..."[59]

In 2010, before conducting Wagner's Die Walküre for the gala premiere of La Scala's season in Milan, he said that the perception of Wagner was unjustly influenced by the fact that he was Hitler's favorite composer: "I think a bit of the problem with Wagner isn't what we all know in Israel, anti-Semitism, etc... It is how the Nazis and Hitler saw Wagner as his own prophet... This perception of Hitler colors for many people the perception of Wagner... We need one day to liberate Wagner of all this weight".[60]

In a 2012 interview with Der Spiegel,[61] Barenboim said,

"It saddens me that official Israel so doggedly refuses to allow Wagner to be performed – as was the case, once again, at the University of Tel Aviv two weeks ago – because I see it as a symptom of a disease. The words I'm about to use are harsh, but I choose them deliberately: There is a politicization of the remembrance of the Holocaust in Israel, and that's terrible." He also argued that after the trial of Adolf Eichmann and the Six-Day War, "a misunderstanding also arose…namely that the Holocaust, from which the Jews' ultimate claim to Israel was derived, and the Palestinian problem had something to do with each other."[61]

He also said, that

"since the Six-Day War, Israeli politicians have repeatedly established a connection between European anti-Semitism and the fact that the Palestinians don't accept the founding of the State of Israel. But that's absurd! The Palestinians weren't primarily anti-Semitic. They just didn't accept their expulsion. But European anti-Semitism goes much further back than to the partition of Palestine and the establishment of Israel in 1948." In response to a question from the interviewer, he said he conducted Wagner with the West–Eastern Divan Orchestra because, "The musicians wanted it. I said: Sure, but we have to talk about it. It's a tricky decision." When the interviewer asked if the initiative come from Arab musicians in the orchestra, he replied, "On the contrary. It was the Israelis. The Israeli brass players."[61]

Over the years, observers of the Wagner battle have weighed in on both sides of the issue.[62]

Political views

Daniel Barenboim leads a rehearsal of the West–Eastern Divan in Seville, Spain, 2005
Rehearsal of the West–Eastern Divan under the lead of Daniel Barenboim, 2005

Barenboim, a supporter of human rights, including Palestinian rights, is an outspoken critic of Israel's conservative governments and the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. In an interview with the British music critic Norman Lebrecht in 2003, Barenboim accused Israel of behaving in a manner which was, "morally abhorrent and strategically wrong", and, "putting in danger the very existence of the state of Israel."[63] In 1967, at the start of the Six-Day War, Barenboim and du Pré had performed for the Israeli troops on the front lines, as well as during the Yom Kippur war in 1973. During the Gulf War, he and an orchestra performed in Israel in gas masks.[64]

Barenboim has argued publicly for a Two-state solution for Israel and Palestinians. In a November 2014, opinion piece in The Guardian, he wrote that the "ongoing security of the state of Israel... is only possible in the long term if the future of the Palestinian people, too, is secured in its own sovereign state. If this does not happen, the wars and history of that region will be constantly repeated and the unbearable stalemate will continue."[65]

West–Eastern Divan

In 1999, Barenboim and Palestinian-American intellectual Edward Said jointly founded the West–Eastern Divan Orchestra.[66][67] This initiative brings together, every summer, a group of young classical musicians from Israel, the Palestinian territories and Arab countries to study, perform and to promote mutual reflection and understanding.[68][69][70] Barenboim and Said jointly received the 2002 Prince of Asturias Awards for their work in "improving understanding between nations." Together they wrote the book Parallels and Paradoxes, based on a series of public discussions held at New York's Carnegie Hall.[71]

In September 2005, presenting the book written with Said, Barenboim refused to be interviewed by uniformed Israel Defense Forces Radio reporter Dafna Arad, considering the wearing of the uniform insensitive for the occasion. In response, Israeli Education Minister Limor Livnat of the Likud party called him "a real Jew hater" and "a real anti-Semite".[72]

After being invited for the fourth time to the Doha Festival for Music and Dialogue in Qatar with the West–Eastern Divan Orchestra in 2012, Barenboim's invitation was cancelled by the authorities because of "Sensitivity to the developments in the Arab world." There had been a campaign against him in the Arab media,[73] accusing him of "being a Zionist".[74]

In July 2012, Barenboim and the orchestra played a pivotal role at the BBC Proms, performing a cycle of Beethoven's nine symphonies, with the Ninth timed to coincide with the opening of the London 2012 Olympic Games.[75] In addition, he was an Olympic flag carrier at the opening ceremony of the Games.[76]

Wolf Prize

In May 2004, Barenboim was awarded the Wolf Prize at a ceremony at the Israeli Knesset. Education Minister Livnat held up the nomination until Barenboim apologized for his performance of Wagner in Israel.[77] Barenboim called Livnat's demand "politically motivated", adding "I don't see what I need to apologize about. If I ever hurt a person privately or in public, I am sorry, because I have no intention of hurting people...", which was good enough for Livnat.[78] The ceremony was boycotted by Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, also a member of the Likud party.[79] In his acceptance speech, Barenboim expressed his opinion on the political situation, referring to the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948:

"I am asking today with deep sorrow: Can we, despite all our achievements, ignore the intolerable gap between what the Declaration of Independence promised and what was fulfilled, the gap between the idea and the realities of Israel? Does the condition of occupation and domination over another people fit the Declaration of Independence? Is there any sense in the independence of one at the expense of the fundamental rights of the other? Can the Jewish people whose history is a record of continued suffering and relentless persecution, allow themselves to be indifferent to the rights and suffering of a neighboring people? Can the State of Israel allow itself an unrealistic dream of an ideological end to the conflict instead of pursuing a pragmatic, humanitarian one based on social justice?"[80]

Israel's President Moshe Katsav and Education Minister Livnat criticized Barenboim for his speech. Livnat accused him of attacking the state of Israel, to which Barenboim replied that he had not done so, but that he instead had cited the text of the Israeli Declaration of Independence.[81]

Performing in the West Bank and Gaza Strip

Barenboim has performed several times in the West Bank, in 1999 at Bir Zeit University and several times in Ramallah.[82]

In December 2007, Barenboim and 20 musicians from England, the United States, France and Germany, and one Palestinian were scheduled to play a baroque music concert in Gaza.[83] Although they had received authorization from Israeli authorities, the Palestinian was stopped at the Israel-Gaza border and told that he needed individual permission to enter.[83] The group waited seven hours at the border, and then canceled the concert in solidarity.[83] Barenboim commented: "A baroque music concert in a Roman Catholic church in Gaza – as we all know – has nothing to do with security and would bring so much joy to people who live there in great difficulty."[83]

In January 2008, after performing in Ramallah, Barenboim accepted honorary Palestinian citizenship, becoming the first Jewish Israeli citizen to be offered the status. Barenboim said he hoped it would serve as a public gesture of peace.[12] Some Israelis criticized Barenboim's decision to accept Palestinian citizenship. The parliamentary faction chairman of the Shas party demanded that Barenboim be stripped of his Israeli citizenship, but the Interior Minister told the media that "the matter is not even up for discussion."[84]

In January 2009, Barenboim cancelled two concerts of the West–Eastern Divan Orchestra in Qatar and Cairo "due to the escalating violence in Gaza and the resulting concerns for the musicians’ safety."[85]

In May 2011, Barenboim conducted the "Orchestra for Gaza" composed of volunteers from the Berlin Philharmonic, the Berlin Staatskapelle, the Orchestra of La Scala in Milan, the Vienna Philharmonic and the Orchestre de Paris—at al-Mathaf Cultural House. The concert, held in Gaza City, was co-ordinated in secret with the United Nations. The orchestra flew from Berlin to Vienna and from there to El Arish on a plane chartered by Barenboim, entering the Gaza Strip at the Egyptian Rafah Border Crossing. The musicians were escorted by a convoy of United Nations vehicles.[86] The concert, the first performance by an international classical ensemble in the strip, was attended by an invited audience of several hundred schoolchildren and NGO workers, who greeted Barenboim with applause.[87] The orchestra played Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik and Symphony No. 40, also familiar to an Arab audience as basis of one of the songs of the famous Arab singer Fairuz. In his speech Barenboim said: "Everyone has to understand that the Palestinian cause is a just cause therefore it can be only given justice if it is achieved without violence. Violence can only weaken the righteousness of the Palestinian cause".[88]

Personal life

Daniel Barenboim met English cellist Jacqueline Du Pré on New Year's Eve 1966. Shortly after the end of the Six-Day War, they flew to Jerusalem. She converted to Judaism, and they were married on 15 June 1967[89] at the Western Wall.[90] Thus one of the most fruitful relationships in the music world was born. Some critics have compared their musical union to that between Clara and Robert Schumann. This is evident from the numerous performances that Barenboim did with Du Pré, both as a pianist and as a conductor. She died in October 1987.

In the early 1980s, Barenboim had an affair with the Russian pianist Elena Bashkirova. The two lived together and had two children: David Arthur Barenboim, born in Paris in 1982, now and manager-writer for hip-hop bands, and Michael Barenboim, born in Paris in 1985, now a violinist. They were married in 1988.

Awards and recognition

Honorary degrees

Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording:

Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance:

Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance:

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra):

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra):

In 2009 Konex Foundation from Argentina granted him the Diamond Konex Award for Classical Music as the most important musician in the last decade in his country.

In 2012, he was voted into the Gramophone Hall of Fame.[104]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Daniel Barenboim: In the Beginning Was Sound". The Reith Lectures. 7 April 2006. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  2. ↑ Daniel Barenboim to leave La Scala opera house
  3. ↑ "Conductor Daniel Barenboim receives honorary knighthood". BBC News. 2011-06-24. Retrieved 2015-02-08.
  4. ↑ "SPD verleiht Internationalen Willy-Brandt-Preis an Daniel Barenboim" (Press release). Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (Social Democratic Party Germany). 21 September 2011. Retrieved 2015-02-08.
  5. ↑ Who's who in Israel and in the work for Israel abroad – Itzhak Ben – Google Books. Books.google.ca. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  6. ↑ Daniel Barenboim (November 2004). "Why Wilhelm Furtwängler Still Moves Us Today". danielbarenboim.com. Translation from an article originally published in Der Tagesspiegel. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  7. ↑ "Festrede von Daniel Barenboim beim Festakt zur Eröffnung der Salzburger Festspiele 2010" (PDF) (in German). Land Salzburg, Präsidialabteilung. 26 July 2010. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  8. ↑ "Barenboim, Daniel," Who’s Who in World Jewry. Baltimore: WWIWJ, Inc., 1987, p. 28
  9. ↑ Zubin Mehta, The Score of My Life. New York: Amadeus Press, 2009, pp. 90, 25–26.
  10. 1 2 Michael Shelden (15 July 2004). "My affair? I don't think Jackie knew". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  11. ↑ AFP. "Conductor Barenboim to be Nobel nominee". Argentina: Dawn.com. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  12. 1 2 Hirsch, Yael (2008-01-13). "Israeli pianist Daniel Barenboim takes Palestinian citizenship Israel News". Haaretz. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  13. ↑ "Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim to perform with orchestra in Gaza". Haaretz. 2 May 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  14. ↑ Helga Dudman, "Music with much love," Jerusalem Post, 9 June 1967, p. 5.
  15. ↑ Julian Lloyd Webber (21 July 2005). "Why make war when you can make music?". Telegraph. London. Retrieved 23 April 2007.
  16. ↑ John von Rhein (14 May 1989). "Barenboim Backlash. The CSO's Henry Fogel Defends Solti's Successor". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  17. ↑ Kate Connolly (15 November 2002). "Barenboim in battle to save Berlin opera house". Telegraph. London. Retrieved 23 April 2007.
  18. ↑ Michael Henderson (20 June 2006). "Goodbye Chicago, hello world". Telegraph. London. Retrieved 23 April 2007.
  19. ↑ Barbara McMahon (16 May 2006). "Barenboim to be La Scala's guest". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 23 April 2007.
  20. ↑ Fiona Maddocks (2011-12-11). "A tale of two Italian opera cities". The Observer. Retrieved 2015-02-08.
  21. ↑ a) Michael Henderson (1 April 2006). "Daniel in the circus lions' den". Telegraph. London. Retrieved 23 April 2007.
    b) Kate Connolly (9 March 2006). "Maverick maestro plays a different tune". London: Telegraph. Retrieved 23 April 2007.
    c) Daniel Barenboim (8 April 2006). "In the beginning, there was sound. Then came Muzak". Telegraph. London. Retrieved 23 April 2007.
    d) Peter Beaumont (2 April 2006). "Maestro of the Middle East". The Observer. London. Retrieved 23 April 2007.
  22. ↑ Richard Dyer (January–February 2007). "Ideas, Appassionato". Harvard Magazine. pp. 14–15. Retrieved 23 April 2007.
  23. ↑ Daniel J. Wakin (29 November 2006). "Unprompted, Lorin Maazel Nominates His Successor". New York Times. Retrieved 23 April 2007.
  24. ↑ Mark Landler (30 November 2006). "Proposed Philharmonic Candidate Is Flattered, if Coy". New York Times. Retrieved 23 April 2007.
  25. ↑ Wakin, Daniel J. (25 April 2007). "Philharmonic to Add a Position at the Top". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  26. ↑ Daniel Barenboim. "On Conducting the New Year's Day Concert with the Vienna Philharmonic" (PDF). Wiener Philharmoniker. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  27. ↑ "Neujahrskonzert 2009 – Daniel Barenboims sanfte Revolution". Kleine Zeitung (in German). 1 January 2009. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  28. ↑ Rebecca Schmid. "Plans for Barenboim–Said Academy in Berlin Unveiled". New York Times. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  29. ↑ Barenboim's liner notes for his recording of Beethoven's symphonies, Teldec, ASIN B00004S1EV, 2000.
  30. ↑ Ich bin mit Bach aufgewachsen ("I was reared on Bach"), Barenboim's liner notes for his recordings of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier. Translated by Gery Bramall.
  31. ↑ Daniel Barenboim (31 August 2001). "Love, the hard way". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  32. ↑ Stephen Moss "Daniel in the lion's den", The Guardian, 22 October 1999.
  33. ↑ "Barenboim anticipó su gran concierto con un ensayo en pleno Obelisco". Clarin.com. 2006-12-31. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  34. ↑ "Bronislaw Szulc at Levant Fair Concert Hall [Tel Aviv]," Palestine Post, 20 July 1938, p. 6
  35. ↑ Chaim Gans (2003). "Moralische Aspekte des Israelischen Wagner-Boykotts". In Moshe Zuckermann. Medien – Politik – Geschichte. Tel Aviver Jahrbuch für deutsche Geschichte (in German). Verlag Wallstein Verlag. p. 385. ISBN 3892446571.
  36. ↑ Paul R. Mendes-Flohr and Jehuda Reinharz, eds. (1995). The Jew in the Modern World. Oxford University Press. p. 230, fn1 to Richard Wagner, "Jewry in Music," translation and excerpt of "Das Judenthum in der Musik," pp. 327–331.
  37. ↑ "Haifa Symphony Orchestra Cancels Wagnerian Concert on 'crystal Night' | Jewish Telegraphic Agency". Archive.jta.org. 1963-11-12. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  38. ↑ "Philharmonic Drops Wagner from Program to Avoid Disturbances | Jewish Telegraphic Agency". Archive.jta.org. 1974-06-25. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  39. ↑ Hugh Orgel, "Controversy Flares over Playing of Wagner's Music by the IPO," Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 23 October 1981.
  40. ↑ "News Brief," Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 7 August 1985
  41. ↑ Hugh Orgel, "Israeli Philharmonic Rehearses Two Pieces of Richard Wagner," Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 2 November 1989.
  42. ↑ Helen Kaye, "Berlin orchestra won't play Wagner," Jerusalem Post International Edition, 11 November 1989, p. 7.
  43. ↑ Hugh Orgel, "Chorus of Protest Erupts in Israel over IPO Decision to Perform Wagner," Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 16 December 1991.
  44. ↑ Hugh Orgel, "IPO Goes Ahead and Plays Wagner, in Guise of a Rehearsal Concert," Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 29 December 1991.
  45. ↑ News Brief, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 30 October 2000.
  46. ↑ Ohad Gozani, "Israeli battle over Wagner," The Daily Telegraph, 14 May 2001. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  47. ↑ News Brief, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 31 May 2001; Larry Derfner, "Aryan virtues vs. musical greatness," Chicago Jewish Star, 25 May 2001, pp.7–8.
  48. ↑ Zipi Shohat, "Wagner gets in through the back door. Some are angry about Daniel Barenboim's decision to conduct Wagner, but call it a historic occasion nonetheless," Haaretz, 18 July 2001; Inigo Gilmore, "Barenboim shatters Israel taboo on Wagner," The Daily Telegraph, 9 July 2001; Will Hodgkinson, "Orchestral manoeuvres," The Guardian, 13 August 2004.
  49. ↑ Gila Wertheimer, "Subscribers turning a deaf ear to CSO," Chicago Jewish Star, 14 September 2001, p. 2; Letters, Chicago Jewish Star, 28 September 2001, p. 4.
  50. ↑ Daniel Barenboim, "Those who want to leave, do so," The Guardian, 6 September 2002.
  51. ↑ Joel Greenberg, "Playing a Bit of Wagner Sets Off an Uproar in Israel," New York Times, 9 July 2001, p. A4; Associated Press, "Barenboim plays Wagner," Chicago Sun-Times, 8 July 2001, p. 2A.
  52. ↑ News Brief, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 25 July 2001.
  53. ↑ Zipi Shohat, "Mehta slams Knesset boycott of Barenboim," Haaretz, 26 July 2001.
  54. ↑ Jason Keyser, "Apology (sort of) delivered, now Barenboim will get prize," Chicago Sun-Times, 17 December 2003, p. 80.
  55. ↑ "Daniel Barenboim Discusses Music As A Bridge For Peace In The Middle East". Calendar.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  56. ↑ Paul Sullivan, "Daniel Barenboim at Columbia University," Financial Times, 27 January 2005,
  57. ↑ Daniel J. Wakin, "Barenboim Criticizes Israeli Views," New York Times, 26 January 2005, URL= http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/26/arts/26bare.html?_r=0
  58. ↑ Rachel Pomerance, "Barenboim Comments Spark Anger As Controversy at Columbia Builds," Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 26 January 2005; Liel Lebovitz, "Maestro Maelstrom at Columbia," The Jewish Week, 28 January 2005.
  59. ↑ Oestreich, James R. (2 March 2007). "Musing on the Barenboim X-Factor". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
  60. ↑ Associated Press, "Israeli conductor Barenboim wants to 'liberate' Wagner from Nazi association," Haaretz, 3 December 2010.
  61. 1 2 3 Der Spiegel, "SPIEGEL Interview with Daniel Barenboim: 'The Germans Are Prisoners of Their Past'", 22 June 2012.
  62. ↑ Supporting Barenboim's position: Editorial, "Keep Wagner on the program," Chicago Sun-Times, 18 December 1991; Karl E. Meyer, "Wagner, Israel – and Herzl," New York Times, 19 December 1991, p. A18; Leonard Bernstein, "Wagner’s Music Isn't Racist," New York Times, 26 December 1991; Editorial, "A grim Holocaust memory… but don't censor Wagner," Chicago Tribune, 10 July 2001. Opposing Barenboim's position: "Wagner in Israel," The Jewish Star, Calgary edition, 20 November 1981, p. 4; Gideon Hausner, "The case against Wagner," Jerusalem Post International Edition, 25–31 October 1981, p. 15; Eugene Blum, "Don't play Wagner," International Jerusalem Post, 10 November 2000; Manuela Hoelterhoff, "Should Israel Switch Off Wagner?" Wall Street Journal, 13 July 2001, p. A10; Martin Sherman, "With friends like Daniel," International Jerusalem Post, 20 September 2002, p. 13; Editorial, "Bye-bye, Daniel. As a high profile critic of Israel, Mr. Barenboim's departure [from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra] brings relief," Chicago Jewish Star, 23 June 2006, p. 4; Terry Teachout, "Why Israel Still Shuts Wagner Out," Wall Street Journal, 31 January – 1 February 2009, p. W1.
  63. ↑ "Norman Lebrecht, "Daniel Barenboim – Playing Politics". ''La Scena Musicale". Scena.org. 3 December 2003. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  64. ↑ "Conducting a one-man experiment in peace. Profile: Daniel Barenboim". The Sunday Times. London. 21 August 2005. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  65. ↑ Daniel Barenboim, "Germany must talk straight with Israel," The Guardian, 9 November 2014, URL=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/nov/09/germany-israel-history-peace-daniel-barenboim
  66. ↑ Suzie Mackenzie (5 April 2003). "In harmony". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  67. ↑ Daniel Barenbolm (25 October 2004). "Sound and vision". Arts.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  68. ↑ Martin Kettle (2001-08-03). "Everything to play for | Education | The Guardian". Education.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  69. ↑ Geraldine Bedell. "Daniel's codes of conduct | From the Observer | The Observer". Observer.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  70. ↑ Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  71. ↑ "Culture, Arts and Entertainment". Telegraph. 2014-01-08. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  72. ↑ "Conductor Barenboim in radio row". BBC. 3 September 2005.
  73. ↑ Smadar Perry (1 May 2012). "'Zionist' Barenboim's Qatar concert cancelled". YNetnews. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  74. ↑ Omar Barghouti (28 April 2012). "view all Israeli-Arab Normalization Hits a Snag". Al-Akhbar English. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  75. ↑ Guy Dammann (2012-07-29). "Prom 18: West–Eastern Divan Orchestra/Barenboim – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-02-08.
  76. ↑ Owen Gibson (2012-07-27). "Olympic cauldron lit by sport stars of future". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-02-08.
  77. ↑ Ohad Gozani (17 December 2003). "Barenboim changes tune". Telegraph. London.
  78. ↑ "Daniel Barenboim to apologize, receive Wolf Award". Haaretz. Associated Press. 16 December 2003. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  79. ↑ Alon, Gideon (5 May 2004). "Rivlin to boycott Barenboim prize award". Haaretz.
  80. ↑ Archived 20 June 2006 at the Wayback Machine.
  81. ↑
  82. ↑ Archived 19 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  83. 1 2 3 4 "Conductor Barenboim slams Israel after musician barred from entering Gaza". Haaretz. Associated Press. 17 December 2007. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
  84. ↑ "Israeli pianist Barenboim takes Palestinian passport". Ynetnews. 14 January 2008.
  85. ↑ Itzkoff, Dave (6 January 2009). "Barenboim Cancels Middle East Concerts". New York Times.
  86. ↑ Michael Kimmelman (4 May 2011). "Mozart Leaps Perilous Hurdles to Reach an Audience in Gaza". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  87. ↑ "Conductor Daniel Barenboim holds Gaza 'peace concert'". BBC. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  88. ↑ Conal Urquhart (3 May 2011). "Daniel Barenboim brings 'solace and pleasure' to Gaza with Mozart concert. Israeli conductor voices support for non-violence and Palestinian state during performance for schoolchildren and NGO workers". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  89. ↑ Jacqueline DuPré Biography
  90. ↑ Ian Phillips (28 May 1999). "Classical: Defending the real Jackie". The Independent. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  91. ↑ "Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter B" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  92. ↑ "Presidenza della Repubblica". Quirinale.it. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  93. ↑ Archived 8 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  94. ↑ "Conductor Daniel Barenboim Honorary Guide of the Raelian Movement". Raelianews. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
  95. ↑ "Daniel Barenboim". International Service. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  96. ↑ "Gold Medal for Daniel Barenboim". The Royal Philharmonic Society. 29 January 2008. Retrieved 29 January 2008.
  97. ↑ "37th International İstanbul Music Festival ends". Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
  98. ↑ "Årets-Næste prismodtager Daniel Barenboim, pianist og dirigent" (in Danish). Léonie Sonnings Musikfond. 29 January 2009. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
  99. ↑ "Cérémonie de remise des insignes de Grand Officier de la Légion d'honneur à M. Daniel Barenboim". Présidence de la République – Élysée. 28 February 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  100. ↑ "Oeuvreprijs Klassiek voor Daniel Barenboim". 29 March 2011.
  101. ↑ "Conductor Barenboim to accept British knighthood". AFP. 23 June 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  102. ↑ "Conductor Daniel Barenboim receives honorary knighthood". BBC. 24 June 2011.
  103. ↑ "SOAS Honorary Fellows". SOAS.
  104. ↑ "Daniel Barenboim (pianist and conductor)". Retrieved 10 April 2012.

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