Doctors say Barenboim will be back ‘within weeks’
NewsPhysicians at Berlin’s Charité hospital have issued an update on Daniel Barenboim’s condition.
They say he has responded well to treatment for a rare inflammation of the arteries and will make ‘a full recovery.’
He will be fit to return to normal work at the Staatsoper, though he will not conduct this month’s run of Strauss Eletkra.
If he has any common sense he’ll retire. What’s going on with the current generation of egomaniacs who can’t let go? Rest on your laurels, Danny.
Not retire, but slow down. Aging musicians have a lot to offer, not least in mentoring younger talent.
Is Barenboim grooming successors at the Berlin Staatskapelle and the West-East Divan?
The common understanding of _performer_ ‘retirement’ means retirement from _stage_. If he likes to teach or give masterclasses after retirement from stage, perfectly fine with me.
It is news to me that a conductor is expected to groom his successor. From what we have seen in the last decades, when a musical director retires, another is appointed, preferably someone who already has three other positions, preferably on three different continents, so he may get a fair chance of neglecting all of them. I am being sarcastic, but I’m afraid this is the reality of our days. I doubt the fact that Barenboim is director for life at Staatskapelle is going to make a difference. The situation with the West-Eastern Divan is different, he has founded the orchestra, he has decision power, he might be interested in grooming a successor.
At any rate, the point of my first comment was retirement from _stage_ . It is wishful thinking of him to believe he can still deal with the exigencies of a stage career, and rather ungenerous toward audiences to let institutions use his name to attract ticket purchasers.
Good point. I don’t notice Herbert Blomstedt retiring (or even slowing down!). Based on his recent Nielsen 4 and Beethoven 5 with the NYPO he still has lots to say (the Beethoven was absolutely superb)
You are healthy until you aren’t anymore. And when you aren’t anymore, it is advisable to slow down. I bet the pianist who recently died a few days after a heart attack during a concert was healthy too until he wasn’t anymore.
Unless I am not mistaken, Blomstedt doesn’t hold any full-time positions now and hadn’t for a long time. If I am mistaken, I stand corrected.
@guest: I agree with your sarcastic comments, and about the Divan. That’s what I primarily had in mind.
@John Kelly
The fight for Blomstedt’s 100th birthday concerts may have already started, but he hasn’t held administrative positions in many years. I agree he has plenty to say. I heard him in a truly memorable Mozart & Bruckner concert in Boston last February.
Well said about Blomstedt.
The New York Philharmonic concert:
http://www.colinscolumn.com/new-york-philharmonic-herbert-blomstedt-conducts-nielsens-inextinguishable-beethovens-fifth-symphonies/
The recent Bruckner 7 in London:
http://www.colinscolumn.com/philharmonia-orchestra-at-royal-festival-hall-herbert-blomstedt-conducts-bruckner-seven-maria-joao-pires-plays-mozart-k488/
Yes, valuable experience and a sense of great history, as we have in Britain at least.
Good point and besides he has enough money I would guess!
It’s a bitter pill to come to the realization that merely working too long does not qualify a person as the current generation. The line behind all of us began forming long ago. That’s life.
If the Maestro wants to truly have a legacy, he will devote what time he has left to preparing future artists. They will carry on the knowledge he has acquired and honor his name.
I reckon this is a case of ‘Tout va bien, Madame La Marquise’.
Spike proteins triggered by either infection or vaccination MIGHT cause such effects.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7987013/
Not mentioning the other side effects of those “Vaccines”…
A symphony for vaccinated should be created….
“Zurück vom Ring!”
Unfortunately for him, he’s not returning to “normal work” but to exceptionally heavy work – he’s returning to three Wagner Rings and the preceding intense rehearsals for a new production (and my sense is that Tcherniakov productions are hardly ‘slap-and-dash’ but require heavy work). Let’s hope the Charité can work fast and well; he’ll need it if he’s going to do the Rings.
That’s terrific news. Wish Danny every bit of recovery to continue for a few more years.