Daniel Barenboim: What lies ahead at 80

Daniel Barenboim: What lies ahead at 80

News

norman lebrecht

November 14, 2022

The birthday celebrations have been put on hold.

The world’s best recognised classical musician is undergoing treatment in Berlin for a neurological condition that will keep him out of action for the rest of the year.

Barenboim said not long ago: ‘I’m always happy when I can make music.’

The precise opposite is equally true. He was quietly depressed in the early Covid lockdown and will be frustrated now, not knowing when he can return to the only activity that gives his life meaning. At 80, what lies ahead for Daniel Barenboim?

He will remain head of the Berlin Staatsoper as long as he likes. He will also preside over the city’s Barenboim-Said Academie and he will be swamped with invitations from the world’s finest institutions to conduct, play piano, lecture, as soon as he is able. He can hope to continue, like Herbert Blomstedt, to performing until 95, and beyond.

That should be assurance enough for most mortal musicians, but Barenboim is no ordinary mortal. He self-belief and sense of mission are simply extraordinary. He genuinely believes he can, through music, make a better world. He keeps trying. The ambition drives him on.

We pray for his recovery, and for the better world he so ardently promises.

And with that, there is hope.

 

 

 


 

Comments

comment_count comments
Oldest
Newest
Oldest
Top rated

Comment as a guest:

MOST READ TODAY: