Daniel Barenboim

Pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim is known for composer-focused extended programs—such as the 2002 Wagner marathon at the Berlin State Opera, where he has been music director since 1992—and has recorded several complete collections, including all the symphonies by Brahms, Bruckner, and Schumann. Born in 1942 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Russian Jewish immigrant parents, Barenboim secured his reputation as a prodigy when, at age 11, he impressed conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler. Studies in Paris with Nadia Boulanger followed, as did glittering debuts in concert halls across the world. In 1967, Barenboim married cellist Jacqueline du Pré, and the two were widely celebrated for their collaborative musicianship. Barenboim’s career was further boosted by subsequent high-profile events, including a performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, for which he was conductor and soloist, at a concert to mark the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Promoting peace through music has become a recent focus for Barenboim: In 1999 he cofounded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra with Palestinian academic Edward Said in response to the worsening division between Israel and Palestine. The ensemble continues to tour, and it provided inspiration for the Berlin-based Barenboim-Said Akademie, an institution for musicians largely from the Middle East and North Africa. In 2022, Barenboim used his acceptance of Gramophone's Lifetime Achievement Award to announce that he is taking a break from performing activities due to a neurological condition.