On Thursday, February 6, the legendary pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim announced in an Instagram post that he has Parkinson's disease.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1942, Barenboim grew up in Israel, where he would later marry his wife, the British cellist Jaqueline du Pre. She passed away in 1987 after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
Barenboim has been a leading figure in the music world for nearly 70 years, both as a pianist and conductor. He has held music director positions at major orchestras like the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre de Paris, as well as Milan's Teatro alla Scala and the Berlin State Opera. Whether conducting concerts from the keyboard or leading Ring Cycles at Bayreuth, Barenboim's legacy as a musician is insurmountable.
He has also been a vocal political activist, founding the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in 1999 alongside Palestinian writer Edward Said, with the hopes of uniting Arabs and Jews through music. In his post on Thursday, Barenboim wrote that this orchestra was his "most important responsibility." Barenboim's commitment to using the power of art to make positive change in the world and leave an impact on his community is admirable and inspiring; the continuing success of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, as well as his music school in Berlin, the Barenboim-Said Akademie, are essential.
“I am planning to maintain as many of my professional commitments as possible,” the conductor said.
Wishing the maestro all the best - he is a giant of humanity and the arts and we hope he will persevere, as he always has.