Daniel Barenboim facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Daniel Barenboim
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Barenboim receiving the 2019 Konrad Adenauer Prize from the City of Cologne
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Daniel Moses Barenboim
15 November 1942 Buenos Aires, Argentina
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| Years active | 1952–present |
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| Children | 2 |
Daniel Moses Barenboim (born 15 November 1942) is a famous musician. He is a classical pianist and conductor (someone who leads an orchestra). He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Daniel Barenboim holds citizenship from Argentina, Israel, Spain, and Palestine. He lives in Berlin, Germany. From 1992 until January 2023, he was the music director of the Berlin State Opera. He also led its orchestra, the Staatskapelle Berlin.
Before this, Barenboim was the music director for other famous groups. These include the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, and La Scala in Milan. He is well-known for creating the West–Eastern Divan Orchestra. This orchestra brings together young Arab and Israeli musicians. He is also known for speaking out about the conflict in the Middle East.
Barenboim has won many awards. These include seven Grammy awards. He also received honors from France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. In 2002, he shared the Prince of Asturias Concord Award with Edward Said. Daniel Barenboim speaks many languages. He is fluent in English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, and Spanish.
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About Daniel Barenboim
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Daniel Barenboim was born on November 15, 1942, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His parents, Aida and Enrique Barenboim, were both professional pianists. He started piano lessons with his mother when he was five. His father was his only piano teacher. On August 19, 1950, at age seven, he gave his first public concert in Buenos Aires.
In 1952, Daniel's family moved to Israel. Two years later, in 1954, his parents took him to Salzburg, Austria. There, he took conducting classes with Igor Markevitch. That summer, he also met and played for Wilhelm Furtwängler. Furtwängler was a famous conductor who greatly influenced Barenboim. Furtwängler called him a "phenomenon." He invited Daniel to play with the Berlin Philharmonic. But Daniel's father felt it was too soon after World War II for a Jewish boy to go to Germany. In 1955, Barenboim studied music theory and composition in Paris.
On June 15, 1967, Barenboim married British cellist Jacqueline du Pré in Jerusalem. She became Jewish before their wedding. Conductor Zubin Mehta, a long-time friend of Barenboim, was a witness. Jacqueline du Pré stopped playing music in 1973. This was because she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). Their marriage lasted until her death in 1987.
In the early 1980s, Barenboim began a relationship with Russian pianist Elena Bashkirova. They had two sons, David Arthur (born 1983) and Michael (born 1985). They were born in Paris before Jacqueline du Pré's death. Barenboim and Bashkirova married in 1988. Both of their sons are involved in music. David is a manager for a German hip-hop band. Michael is a classical violinist.
His Citizenships
Daniel Barenboim holds citizenship in Argentina, Israel, Palestine, and Spain. He was the first person to have both Palestinian and Israeli citizenship at the same time. He lives in Berlin, Germany.
His Music Career
After his first concert in Buenos Aires, Barenboim made his international debut. He played piano in Vienna and Rome in 1952 when he was 10. He performed in Paris in 1955, London in 1956, and New York in 1957. After that, he regularly toured Europe, the United States, South America, Australia, and Asia.
In June 1967, Barenboim and Jacqueline du Pré played concerts in Israel. They performed in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Beersheba. This was before and during the Six-Day War. His friendships with musicians Itzhak Perlman, Zubin Mehta, and Pinchas Zukerman led to a famous film. In 1969, a film was made of them performing the Schubert "Trout" Quintet.
Barenboim first conducted an orchestra in London in 1966. After that, many orchestras in Europe and America invited him to conduct. From 1975 to 1989, he was the music director of the Orchestre de Paris. There, he conducted a lot of modern classical music.
Barenboim conducted his first opera in 1973. It was Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Edinburgh Festival. He first conducted at Bayreuth in 1981. He conducted there regularly until 1999. In 1988, he was chosen to lead the Opéra Bastille in Paris. But he was fired in January 1989 before it opened. In 1989, Barenboim was named the future music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He took over in 1991 and stayed until 2006. He found it frustrating to have to raise money for the orchestra in the U.S.
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In 1992, Barenboim became the music director of the Berlin State Opera and the Staatskapelle Berlin. He worked to keep the State Opera independent. He also tried to keep the orchestra's traditional sound. In 2000, he was made conductor for life of the Staatskapelle Berlin.
In 2006, Barenboim became the main guest conductor of La Scala opera house in Milan. He later became its music director in 2011.
In 2006, Barenboim gave a series of five lectures called In the Beginning was Sound. These talks about music were recorded in cities like London, Chicago, Berlin, and Jerusalem. He also gave lectures at Harvard University called Sound and Thought.
In 2009, Barenboim conducted the Vienna New Year's Concert for the first time. He wished for peace and justice in the Middle East in his New Year message. He conducted this concert again in 2014 and 2022.
In 2014, work began on the Barenboim–Said Academy in Berlin. Barenboim and Edward Said created this project together. It is a place for young music students from Arab countries and Israel to study music and other subjects in Berlin. It opened in 2016. In 2017, the Pierre Boulez Saal concert hall opened as part of the academy.
In 2015, Barenboim showed off a new type of grand piano. It was designed with straight parallel strings, unlike most modern pianos.
In October 2022, Barenboim announced he would reduce his work due to health reasons. On January 6, 2023, he resigned as the General Music Director of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden.
His Musical Style
Barenboim has his own ideas about how music should be played. He doesn't always follow new trends based on music history. For example, he doesn't always choose the tempo (speed) of a piece based on old notes from the composer. Instead, he believes the tempo should come from the music itself, especially its harmony (how notes fit together).
When he plays Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier, Barenboim often uses the piano's sustain pedal. This makes the sound richer. This was not possible on the instruments used in Bach's time. He also makes one musical line louder than others in some pieces. This is also something that couldn't be done on older instruments.
Recordings
Early in his career, Barenboim focused on classical and romantic music. He made his first recording in 1954. He recorded all of Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert's piano sonatas. He also recorded Beethoven's and Mozart's piano concertos. For romantic music, he recorded Brahms's piano concertos and Chopin's Nocturnes.
Barenboim also recorded many chamber music pieces. These are for small groups of instruments. He often played with his first wife, Jacqueline du Pré, and violinists Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman.
As a conductor, he recorded all the symphonies by Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Schubert, and Schumann. He also recorded many operas by Mozart and Wagner. He has also recorded works by Mahler.
Later, Barenboim started playing music from the Baroque period and the 20th century. He also explored other music styles, like jazz and the folk music of Argentina.
To celebrate his 75th birthday, two large collections of his recordings were released.
Conducting Wagner in Israel
Richard Wagner was a German composer. His music was used by the Nazis, and he had anti-Jewish views. Because of this, his music was not played in Israel for a long time. This was an unofficial ban.
Barenboim has publicly disagreed with this ban since 1989. He believes that Wagner's music should be separated from his personal views. In 1990, he conducted the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in Israel. But he did not include Wagner's music. He said, "Why play what hurts people?"
However, in July 2001, Barenboim was conducting a concert in Jerusalem. At the end, he announced he would play a piece by Wagner as an encore. He invited anyone who objected to leave. A debate happened, but most people stayed and applauded. Barenboim said he decided to play Wagner after his news conference was interrupted by a phone ringing with Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" as its ringtone. He thought, "If it can be heard on the ring of a telephone, why can't it be played in a concert hall?"
Some people in Israel were upset by this. A committee in the Israeli parliament even asked for him to be banned from Israel. But others, including conductor Zubin Mehta, disagreed with this idea. Barenboim later said he regretted if he had hurt anyone.
In 2005, Barenboim gave a lecture about Wagner, Israel, and Palestine. He said that the way Wagner's music is seen is unfairly influenced by Hitler. He believes Wagner's music should be "liberated" from this connection.
His Views on Society
Barenboim supports human rights, including for Palestinians. He often speaks out against the Israeli government's policies in Palestinian areas. In 2003, he said Israel's actions were "morally wrong." In the past, Barenboim performed for Israeli soldiers during wars in 1967 and 1973.
Barenboim believes that Israelis and Palestinians should have two separate states. In 2014, he wrote that Israel's safety depends on Palestinians having their own country. If this doesn't happen, he believes the conflict will continue.
West–Eastern Divan Orchestra
In 1999, Barenboim and Edward Said created the West–Eastern Divan Orchestra. This orchestra brings together young classical musicians from Israel, Palestine, and Arab countries every summer. They study and perform music together. The goal is to help them understand each other better. Barenboim and Said won an award in 2002 for their work in "improving understanding between nations."
In 2012, Barenboim and the orchestra played all nine of Beethoven's symphonies at the BBC Proms. This was timed with the opening of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Barenboim was also an Olympic flag carrier at the opening ceremony.
Wolf Prize
In May 2004, Barenboim received the Wolf Prize in Israel. The Education Minister at the time wanted him to apologize for playing Wagner's music in Israel. Barenboim said he didn't need to apologize but regretted if he had hurt anyone. This was enough for the minister. In his acceptance speech, Barenboim spoke about his hopes for peace. He donated all the prize money to music education for Israeli and Palestinian youth.
Performing in the West Bank and Gaza Strip
Barenboim has performed several times in the West Bank, including at Bir Zeit University and in Ramallah.
In December 2007, Barenboim planned a concert in Gaza. But a Palestinian musician in his group was stopped at the border. The concert was canceled in protest. Barenboim said the concert had nothing to do with security and would have brought joy to people living in difficult conditions.
In January 2008, after a concert in Ramallah, Barenboim accepted honorary Palestinian citizenship. He was the first Jewish Israeli citizen to receive this. He hoped it would be a symbol of peace. Some Israelis criticized his decision.
In May 2011, Barenboim conducted the "Orchestra for Gaza." This orchestra was made up of musicians from famous groups like the Berlin Philharmonic. They played a concert in Gaza City. The concert was organized secretly with the United Nations. Barenboim said that the Palestinian cause is fair, but it must be achieved without violence.
Special Piano
In 2017, Barenboim showed a new type of grand piano. It has straight bass strings, unlike most modern pianos where the strings cross. He was inspired by a piano owned by the composer Liszt. Barenboim likes that this new piano gives a clearer sound and more control over the tone. This piano was made with the help of Chris Maene.
Awards and Honors
Daniel Barenboim has received many awards and honors for his contributions to music and peace.
Awards and Titles
- Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, 2002
- Prince of Asturias Awards, 2002 (with Edward Said)
- Ernst von Siemens Music Prize, 2006
- Commander of the Legion of Honour, 2007
- Praemium Imperiale, 2007
- Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal, 2008
- Diamond Konex Award for Classical Music, 2009
- Léonie Sonning Music Prize, 2009
- Westphalian Peace Prize, 2010
- Otto Hahn Peace Medal, 2010
- Grand Officier of the Legion of Honour, 2011
- Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE), 2011
- Dresden Peace Prize, 2011
- International Willy-Brandt Prize, 2011
- Honorary Member of the Berliner Philharmoniker
- Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts, 2015
- Elgar Medal, 2015
- Lifetime Achievement Gramophone Classical Music Awards, 2022
- Honorary citizen of Berlin, 2023
- Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, 2023
Honorary Degrees
- Doctor of Philosophy, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1996
- Honorary doctorate, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 2003
- Doctor of Music, University of Oxford, 2007
- Doctor of Music, SOAS, University of London, 2008
- Doctor of Music, Royal Academy of Music, 2010
Grammy Awards
Barenboim has won 7 Grammy Awards:
- Best Opera Recording: For Wagner's Tannhäuser (2003).
- Best Chamber Music Performance: For Beethoven/Mozart Quintets (1995) and Brahms's Three Violin Sonatas (1991).
- Best Orchestral Performance: For Corigliano's Symphony No. 1 (1992).
- Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra): For Richard Strauss Wind Concertos (2002), Elgar's Violin Concerto (1983), and Beethoven's Five Piano Concertos (1977).
Images for kids
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Barenboim receiving the 2019 Konrad Adenauer Prize from the City of Cologne
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Daniel Barenboim at age 11, with composer Eithan Lustig and the Gadna Youth orchestra (1953)
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Barenboim's wedding in Jerusalem, 1967.
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Daniel Barenboim performing in the U.S. at age 15 (January 1958)
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(l-r) Peter Kirchner, President of the Federal Republic of Germany Richard von Weizsäcker, and Barenboim visit a Jewish cemetery in Berlin-Weissensee (1990)
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Daniel Barenboim leads a rehearsal of the West–Eastern Divan in Seville, Spain, 2005
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Rehearsal of the West–Eastern Divan under the lead of Daniel Barenboim, 2005
See also
In Spanish: Daniel Barenboim para niños
