In the course of the past 30 years, few members of the classical music fraternity have garnered as much respect as Daniel Barenboim. Having performed to an audience for the first time at the age of seven, the Argentine-born pianist began snaring international recognition at a staggering rate, and to date lists seven classical Grammy awards and five honorary degrees on his CV. In terms of achievements and popularity, classical newbies can think of him as a less flamboyantly dressed version of Prince, or Bono with a baton (albeit less smug).
Still, despite being one of classical music’s most revered characters, Barenboim has sought to evade the tag of stuffy aloofness all too often associated with his art. As he recently told Time Out, he eagerly embraced all facets of the cultural explosion that occurred in London when he was based there in the ’60s and ’70s. ‘In 1970 I met the Beatles quite by a chance at a party,’ he says. ‘It was the Beethoven bicentenary, and I was then also playing the Beethoven Sonatas. And that’s all they wanted to hear about – I wanted to talk about them, and all they wanted to talk about was Beethoven.’
It’s an open-mindedness that has stayed with Barenboim through more recent decades, as demonstrated when he made an impromptu appearance at Berlin’s scuzzy Quasimodo jazz bar in October 1999, where he dressed down to join an 11-piece band and delight the sweaty crowd with some freestyle piano. ‘I have always been interested in the music of the Americas,’ said Barenboim of the unconventional performance. ‘Jazz is the music that brings America, Africa and Europe together.’
It’s this belief in the unifying power of music that has earned Barenboim the majority of his recent media attention. In the same year as the aforementioned foray into jazz, he and Palestinian-American university professor Edward Said founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, a group of young musicians based in Seville. Their extraordinary musical talent aside, the collective attracted huge-scale praise (and, inevitably, criticism) by recruiting members hailing from both the Arab and Western worlds, uniting infamously conflicting nations in pursuit of a common creative goal.
Still, despite his project’s headline-grabbing premise, Barenboim has always been keen to make it clear that the orchestra’s priorities are more musical than they are political, calling it ‘an orchestra against ignorance’ rather than ‘a peace-making project.’
Not that forming the West-Eastern Divan was the first controversial moment of his career. In a 2001 concert in Jerusalem, Barenboim caused a stink by conducting the Berlin Staatskapelle through a segment of Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde as an encore. Aware that Wagner’s anti-Semitic associations could prove contentious, the performance was preceded by a half-hour debate in which Barenboim invited those likely to be offended to leave the auditorium. Around 50 did, some branding the conductor a ‘fascist’ as they walked out.
As for next week’s appearance at Emirates Palace, audiences can expect a more sedate, albeit equally memorable performance. The evening is set to open with Barenboim performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 26 in D major, followed by a recital of Tchaikovsky’s iconic Fifth Symphony in E minor – two pieces that have earned Barenboim lengthy, rapturous ovations throughout his eventful career. And with thoughts of retirement likely on the 68-year-old’s mind, Barenboim’s Abu Dhabi appearance signifies an extremely rare chance to witness a truly legendary maestro at work.
Daniel Barenboim conducts the Staatskapelle Berlin at Emirates Palace on January 28, 8pm as part of the Abu Dhabi Classics season. Tickets cost Dhs120-Dhs650 from www.timeouttickets.com
Barenboim’s CV at a glance
1954 Makes his first professional recordings, which include complex piano sonatas by Mozart and Beethoven
1966 Conducts the English Chamber Orchestra at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London
1973 Conducts his first opera – a performance of Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Edinburgh Festival
1975 Assumes the role of music director of the Orchestre de Paris, which he holds until 1989
1983 With the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, wins a Grammy for their rendition of Edward Elgar’s Violin Concerto in B Minor
1991-2006 Assumes the role of music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, which he holds until 2006
1999 Co-founds the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra
