Conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim, a towering cultural figure of our time, has announced that he is stepping back from performing for health reasons.
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Very sad news - one of the greats. David Cairns ( I think ) once compared his career to Frank Liszt’s and I don’t think he was guilty of hyperbole.Originally posted by kernelbogey View Post -
Not that I particularly admire Liszt as a Composer, but what has D.B. composed that would boost him into that comparator?Originally posted by Ein Heldenleben View Post
D.B. was the star of one of my first albums, a Westminster recording of the Beethoven PC3, a disc that fired my love for Classical Music in general and Beethoven in particular. I generally was still a devoted fan until he assumed the Chicago post, and then repeated exposure dulled the luster somewhat, although I have continued to buy recordings up until a few weeks ago, his Brahms with the Berlin Staatkapelle. His life has been a book with many chapters. We wish him well.Comment
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Not quite so sad - I thought that the thread title was going to indicate demise. I wish DB well having been to some of his earliest concerts in the UK as well as several much more recent ones. His earliest recordings of Beethoven's sonatas were early LP - and later CD - purchases. Later on I very much appreciated his work with the West–Eastern Divan Orchestra, both for its musical work and also for its humanitarian aspects.Originally posted by Ein Heldenleben View Post
I hope he enjoys a happy retirement.Comment
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I should think the Liszt comparison was prompted by his many activities aimed at helping musicians, and others, often setting aside his own talents to do so.
One thread which runs through his career was musical education. I remember his TV programmes on Beethoven around the 1970 Bicentenary. Later he asked for a miniature score to be included in his record of Tchaikovsky's fourth Symphony, despite the trade's reluctance to handle such an unusual item . And hearing the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra play at the Proms made me think I'd never heard Beethoven's symphonies played with such freshness and enthusiasm. He didn't have to do any of these things; he could have just made money . But like Liszt he felt he had an obligation to others.Comment
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I loved the young man as pianist, but have not enjoyed his conducting work so much. I treasure such things as the the Orfeo Salzburg 'Waldstein', and a recent release on the BPO Digital Concert Hall of a 1994 Brahm PC2 with Abbado, where he is as good as ever, at least the equal of his marvellous performance on disc with Barbirolli.Comment
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He did look unwell at the New Year concert in Vienna so sadly this isn’t a big surprise.Comment
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I heard he had to have a vascular bypass to relieve a circulatory blockage in one of his legs emergently a few weeks backOriginally posted by Alison View PostComment
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Sad news - I hope they can stabilise his health.
So many great performances , achievements and recordings but most of all that Emperor with Klemperer - the record that introduced me to the glory of classical music.Comment
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Not sure if others had posted on the announcement yesterday, that Barenboim is stepping down from the Staatsoper Unter den Linden / Berlin Staatskapelle at the end of this month:
Given his recent health travails, this isn't a surprise. But this definitely qualifies as a true "end of an era" announcement. Barenboim is still on the Berlin Philharmonic's calendar for this weekend, with Robert Schumann's Piano Concerto, with Martha Argerich as soloist (and one occasion where she's definitely not cancelling), and Brahms 2:
Today's performance is scheduled to be on the BPO's Digital Concert Hall.Comment
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I am still reading the recent Gramophone with DB on the cover. This thread originated back in May of 22 and I thought he had retired thenComment
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I paid €4.90 on Saturday (8pm CET) to watch Daniel Barenboim on La Scala TV conduct Mozart 39-41 at La Scala, Milan. Lugubrious tempi, but singing melodic lines and heartfelt responses from the close-miked orchestral players.
The audience loved it.
’The 80-year-old conductor got a call at 7:15 a.m. on [the previous] Sunday with an unexpected invitation to conduct three Mozart concerts, after Daniel Harding canceled for family reasons. By Wednesday, Barenboim, who left his Berlin post for health reasons, was running rehearsals at La Scala, a theatre where he worked for nearly a decade as chief visiting conductor before becoming its musical director.’ (Independent)Comment
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Did anyone catch the Brahms 2 on Afternoon Concert yesterday? It felt a very subdued and orchestrally fallible performance.
Berlin Philharmonic concert in January.Comment
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I didn’t but I have the Brahms set with the Staatkapelle downloaded on my phone, recorded about 5 years ago. The Second is certainly expansive and autumnal but beautifully playedComment
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