Barenboim’s back, conducting the Barenboim-Said Academy
OrchestrasA new orchestra gave its first concerts this weekend in Berlin under the baton of Daniel Barenboim.
The former head of the Staatsoper teaches twice a week at the Academy, where the dean is his son, Michael.
BR report here.
These people speak of the magic of music, of meritocracy, of the power of the arts….and then when it comes to their personal lives, they behave like a cuban/north korean/african dictator:
Lets be honest, M. Barenboim is lucky to get a paycheck playing the violin. Aside from getting a head start and having every possible masterclass/private coaching from age 0, and despite of being force fed to orchestras and labels (DG), the only resource of this mediocre talent is to call daddy and be professor in his school, concertmaster of his orchestra, etc.
Lets be honest: with a different last name this character would be lucky to teach in a private musikschule for €20/Hr.
Disgusting and despicable.
But that’s business as usual in the so-called “elite arts”.
No wonder young people don’t give 2 S%~ts about these boring, nepotistic pseudo artform anymore.
Its time to stop giving public funds to the overly inflated egos of geriatric had-beens.
Give it to rappers, at least its something new…
Hi, I’m young and I like this music, and think rap is drivel. Maybe you should should stop trolling about rap here?
You mean Crap?
Let’s be honest…let’s be honest (twice) – let’s be outrageously biased and unfair – “overly inflated egos” says Mackie Messer – ah, yes. Rappers – something new – maybe 50 years ago…so much in this dreadful post to unpack…
Jaja I wrote that on purpose to expose the first snob to criticize my writing rather than blatant, unhinged NEPOTISM.
Priorities, you know?
So it was a calculated strategy to entrap someone, how cleaver. And I feel so exposed, and yet, I listen to classical music and opera every day. I am not a snob – my wife calls me an elitist. Your poor writing and biased conclusions are what were exposed. Barenboim unhinged? Mecky Messer unhinged? The people have spoken.
Please tell us how you feel.
To the strains of Kurt Weill: “Und am Kai geht Mecky-Messer; der von allem nichts gewusst”
I’d do it for any one of my children too, as would most of you!! Try to be at least a LITTLE honest.
It’s public money, though – it’s funded by the German government. If this were Barenboim’s plaything, he can do whatever he wants with it, but it is not.
sorry emil its payed for by spanish tax payers money and half the orchestra is spanish not many arabs
Construction of the building (well, renovation of a Staatsoper depot) was funded by a 20M€ grant from the German government (out of 36M€ total, the rest being private funding). The listed funding on the Academy website – at the bottom of the page – consists of the German Ministry for Culture and its post-Covid “Neustart Kultur” fund, and “support” by the Foreign ministry, a private foundation, and Berlin’s public lottery fund.
There was certainly Spanish funding once upon a time, but now it’s 100% German, and the large majority of it public funds. And while it’s reasonable for Daniel Barenboim to have a prominent role, of course, it’s no reason to play academic nepo babies with a public institution.
Let’s be kind, Mecky Messer. Children who were brought up in a hothouse environment of high-achieving, artistically talented (borderline genius), and financially successful parents have a crushing weight on them. Many do succeed in separating themselves from that long shadow to carve a creative individual niche for themselves and for the betterment of society. I think of John Rubinstein, an actor and composer among other accomplished professions; Peter Serkin, who was a marvelous pianist; and Joram Piatigorsky (five mountains), who individuated himself in biological research in spite of two high-powered artistic parents buttressed by his mother’s financial dynasty. There are many others. I do not know whether M. Barenboim measures up to his dad, but in all honesty could anyone? Also, a civilized society should never have to cast off ‘geriatric has-beens’ of estimable accomplishments. As for over inflated egos, that comes with the territory.
Why wont anybody think of those poor privileged millionaires! Have you not a heart?!
Those poor souls!
Did M. Barenboim steal your girlfriend or something?
I’ll respond once you stand up. You’r knees must be hurting a lot…;)
Its been delicious to see all the defences to Nepotism the enlightened elites have graced us with here.
Further proof that listening to Mozart makes you a better person.
Up next: classical music aficionados defend dictators and genocides who love Wagner. Who would’ve thunk!
Rappers are as old as a Bavarian White Sausage in the evening. Without mustard.
Mecky, do you feel the same disgust about the Oistrachs, the Sitkovetskys, the Järvis and the Jurowskis?…
I have never heard Michael Barenboim, but he has two amazingly talented parents so it’s likely he’s quite competent. And he played the Schoenberg Concerto with the Berlin Phil a couple years ago. Maybe it was a favor to his dad, and maybe it was a one-time thing, but they don’t generally book hacks.
And maybe his talents lie more in administration; he certainly has a big Rolodex.
ft.com has a splendid device in its comments column.
An ‘ignore’ button allows readers to choose not to be exposed to the comments of those who irritate them too much, whether through the content or the quantity of their posts.
I’ve felt the need for such a gadget on this website before this post and your follow-ups.
You sound like fun. In any case Barenboim was and is a pianist, not violinist, as well as conductor.
You mentioned dictators outside of Europe but the reality is closer to home. The Akademie’s senior staff member Roni Mann, director of Philosophy, has direct ties to the notorious Fascist Nazi di Robilant clan. They were war criminals powerful enough to evade trial and end up in leadership positions within legal academia (look up Enrico di Robilant, who kept in hiding for a year after the war until negotiations not to try Italian war criminals were finalised). His daughter Anna di Robilant who has used her inherited wealth and privileges to Associate Dean at BU Law hangs the paintings he did in that year on display in her home – a symbol of Fascists being above the law. Mann is thanked as a dear friend in almost every published work by di Robilant. Legal academia and academia in general is covering up this history. They use Edward Said’s name for grooming purposes and a cover for their questionable activities. They’ve not said anything about the genocide in Gaza. Would Edward Said remain silent on what is happening..?
Good for him; he’s an all time great.