Few musicians in the world are as intimately familiar with Beethoven’s piano sonatas as Daniel Barenboim, who has been exploring these works since the earliest days of his career – a musical novel in 32 chapters and an artistic cosmos in itself. Barenboim recorded the full cycle of Beethoven sonatas in the Pierre Boulz Saal in 2020 and presents these works in chronological order of their creation – providing an exciting look at the composer’s artistic development. With this sonata cycle, Daniel Barenboim has set himself a legacy! The box includes 234 mins Bonus: a 42-minutes interview with Daniel Barenboim on Beethoven and 3 masterclasses with Daniel Barenboim, working with students of the Barenboim-Said Academy feat. Alexandre Kantorow (winner of the 1st price and gold medal at the Tschaikowsky Competition, working on Sonata No. 2), Nathalia Milstein on Sonata No. 15 “Pastoral” and Fabian Müller on Sonata No. 23 “Appassionata”). “No matter how many times you play them there are always freshpersonal perspectives waiting to be discovered.” Daniel Barenboim
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Yo-Yo Ma, Daniel Barenboim
The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra celebrates its 20th anniversary by giving a concert at the Berlin Philharmonie with world-renowned artists: Anne-Sophie Mutter and Yo-Yo Ma perform Beethoven’s Triple Concerto together with Maestro Barenboim and the young musicians. Yo-Yo Ma, who played with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra at their first
concert 20 years ago, and Anne-Sophie Mutter, who made her debut with the orchestra only this year, were named as honorary members of the orchestra on the occasion of this event. “It is fascinating to experience how brilliant, concentrated and at the same time relaxed these three world stars make music together and listen to each other. A masterpiece of harmony“ (RBB24). The second part of the concert features Bruckner’s 9th Symphony, transcendental music which the composer himself dedicated to “the dear God“. The symphony is unfinished not only because Bruckner died during the process of composition, but especially because it seems to perish in nothingness. The musicians of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra are excellently prepared and play technically and tonal flawlessly. A magic moment.
Mahler Symphony No. 9
Staatskapelle Berlin. Before embarking on this journey Barenboim and Boulez entered into a long period of reflection and discussion. For the accompanying documentary, director Christoph Engel compiled a rich selection of statements, conversations and musical excerpts by both conductors that provides a guide to the world of Mahler’s towering symphonies. BONUS: THE MAHLER PROJECT – Daniel Barenboim and Pierre Boulez working on the symphonies of Gustav Mahler Performed as a complete cycle in Berlin, Vienna and New York, the concerts were a tremendous success. The Financial Times even wrote “New York is going Mahler mad.” “A milestone for the Staatskappelle Berlin.” New York Times
Salzburg Opening Concert
With Pierre Boulez, Daniel Barenboim and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra you are assured of a
concert of superlatives.
“Unsurpassable in terms of the delicacy of its sonorities.” – Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
„An ideal combination“ Kronenzeitung
“Boulez at his most responsive and insightful in all three works. And a grandiose orchestra – the Wiener
Philharmoniker in top form” (Kurier).
Salzburg Festival Opening Concert 2008
A dream of a line-up: Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez and the Vienna Philharmonic! Put one of the world´s greatest orchestras in the hand of one of the foremost specialists of 20th-century music, add a soloist who is one of today´s leading pianists and conductors, and you are assured of a concert of superlatives that pays glowing tribute to three major works of the past century.
“The mutual affection felt by conductor and orchestra once again made for captivating results. Even without dancers, the music danced.” Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Tangos Among Friends – Presented by Daniel Barenboim
In this personal pilgrimage, world-renowned pianist and conductor, Daniel Barenboim, travels to Buenos Aires to rediscover his home town, the magic of tango and the legend of its greatest pioneer, Carlos Gardel. Interviews and fabulous archive footage evoke the glamorous and optimistic spirit of Buenos Aires in the early 20th century, and provide a framework for investigating the forces which brought such material and artistic wealth to its impoverished, immigrant communities. Barenboim demonstrates tango styles and techniques, and brings the music of Gardel, Salgán, Píazzolla and Ginastera to life in performances with Rodolfo Mederos and Hector Console, and in a thrilling partnership with Placido Domingo.
Beyond the Music: Barenboim-Said Akademie
After the founding of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in 1999, another project of intercultural understanding is derived from the friendship between Barenboim and the Palestinian humanist Edward Said. The inauguration of the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin marked a new phase within the political and educational engagement of musician and pedagogue Daniel Barenboim. After a successful world career as a pianist, conductor and musical teacher with political aspirations, the creation of this place is perhaps Barenboim’s most enduring work and at the same time a project of the heart. “Beyond the Music” portrays this innovative academy whose mission is committed to the humanistic ideals of its founders and ultimately a clear message of peace: music creates understanding.
Lahav Shani conducts the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
In his inaugural performance as the new Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Lahav Shani leads the orchestra in Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony, a work from 1937 that returned the composer into Stalin’s good political graces after being denounced by the Soviet regime. And a renowned Beethoven interpreter with hundreds of recordings of the composer’s music to his name, Daniel Barenboim performs Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto, a startlingly dramatic work inspired by Mozart’s own in C Minor (K. 491). PROGRAM Shostakovich No. 5; Beethoven: Third Piano Concerto; Orthel, Scherzo No. 2 for Orchestra
Martha Argerich & Daniel Barenboim – Piano Duos at the Teatro Colón III
In order to continue their incredibly successful piano duos series, Daniel Barenboim and Martha Argerich return to the stage of beautiful Teatro Colón at their hometown Buenos Aires, putting the “city in a state of emergency” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) with a fulminant concert evening. Argerich and Barenboim perform Johannes Brahms’ Variations On A Theme by Haydn, Arnold Schönberg’s Five pieces for Orchestra in Anton Webern’s arrangement for two pianos and Franz Liszt’s Concerto Pathétique. “An unforgettable concert […] Words were not needed. Barenboim and Argerich met again doing what they can do best and what they do in the best way it can possibly be done in this world” (La Nación).
Piano Duos at the Teatro Colón – Martha Argerich & Daniel Barenboim
“Martha Argerich and Daniel Barenboim wow their hometown of Buenos Aires” proclaimed the FAZ newspaper. This is the first time the two musicians have performed together in the city of their birth. So this concert, which formed part of the Festival de Música y Reflexión was a sort of “home game” for them, and one for which Argentinians had waited long. “The opera house has not been so packed for a long time as for the concerts featuring these two great artists.” (FAZ) “The Colón seemed to burst at the seams”. (Buenos Aires Herald) Martha Argerich delights the audience as “the untamed lioness of the keyboard” no less than Daniel Barenboim, who radiates “an unusually exuberant sparkling sound” (FAZ). Works by Mozart, Schubert and Stravinsky were followed by frenetic demands from the audience for encores and so, accompanied by three musicians from the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Argerich and Barenboim gave Schumann’s Variations for two pianos, Rachmaninoff’s Suite No. 2 and pieces by Guastavino and Milhaud. The Buenos Aires Herald summed up: a “grand tour de force”.