DANIEL BARENBOIM LEADS OPEN-AIR TANGO CONCERT IN BUENOS AIRES ON NEW YEAR’S EVE
December 31, 2006

Daniel Barenboim led the Buenos Aires Philharmonic Orchestra in an evening of tangos on New Year’s Eve. Around 10,000 people, including the Israeli and Palestinian ambassadors, gathered at the foot of the city’s obelisk for a program that included such favourites as El dia que me quieras, Mi Buenos Aires querido and Cuesta abajo.

DANIEL BARENBOIM JOINS CELEBRATIONS FOR THE ISRAEL PHILHARMONIC’S 70th BIRTHDAY
December 2006

Daniel Barenboim took part in celebrations marking the 70th birthday of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. The Orchestra began life as the Palestine Philharmonic, founded by the Polish-born violinist Bronislaw Huberman in the shadow of deepening anti-semitism in Europe, as home for disaffected Jewish musicians. The new orchestra’s first concert, on December 26th 1936, was conducted by Arturo Toscanini, who had fled Mussolini’s Italy and declined a fee, claiming, “I am doing this for humanity.” After the founding of the Jewish state, the Orchestra changed its name to the Israel Philharmonic.

At the Mann Auditorium in Jerusalem on December 26th, Daniel Barenboim performed Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1 under the baton of Zubin Mehta. The following day, Barenboim conducted a program of Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos, K365, for which he and Radu Lupu were the soloists, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3, performed by Lupu, and Brahms’s Symphony No. 1.

DANIEL BARENBOIM AND STAATSKAPELLE BERLIN PERFORM WORKS BY MOZART, MUNDRY AND BARTÓK
December 2006

On December 10 at Berlin’s Philharmonie and the following evening at the Konzerthaus, Daniel Barenboim led the Staatskapelle Berlin in a program consisting of the European premiere of Isabel Mundry’s Nocturno, Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No 1, with Maxim Vengerov as the soloist, and Bartók’s Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta.

DANIEL BARENBOIM CONDUCTS PREMIERE OF BUSONI’S DR. FAUST AT THE STAATSOPER BERLIN
December 2006

On December 2nd, Daniel Barenboim conducted a new production of Ferruccio Buson’s Doktor Faust at the Staatsoper Berlin. The director was Peter Mussbach. Roman Trekel sang the leading role. Wagner was played by Christof Fischesser, Mephistopheles by Jürgen Müller, Der Herzog von Parma by Stephan Rügamer and Der Herzogin von Parma by Carole Höhn.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said, “Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin endow this precious vision of a completely new musical concept … with such fine precision that it appears to float
weightlessly around the room – and our ears are opened.” The Berliner Morgenpost wrote, “Daniel Barenboim seems to interrogate the score with his baton. He does not interpret, he pays homage, and the Staatskapelle support him in an exemplary manner. Daniel Barenboim gives us a Busoni to explore and to admire. What more could we ask for?” The Berliner Zeitung said, “Daniel Barenboim conducted with exceptional conviction. He conveyed meaning and structure and managed to free the extraordinary beauty of Busoni’s music.” The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, “Daniel Barenboim gives us Busoni with reckless – occasionally harsh – abandon. The Staatskapelle fills the hall with a rich spectacle of musical traditions, from Bach to Romanticism – like sparkling and exploding fireworks.”

TRISTAN UND ISOLDE AT THE STAATSOPER BERLIN
November/December 2006

Clifton Forbis was Tristan and Waltraud Meier Isolde in performances of Wagner’s opera given at the Staatsoper Berlin in November and December 2006, with Daniel Barenboim conducting. The other main roles were taken by Kwangchul Youn (König Marke), Gerd Grochowski (Kurwenal), Reiner Goldberg (Melot) and Rosemarie Lang (Brangäne).

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote, “This house last heard Daniel Barenboim and his brilliant Staatskapelle with a slowly elegiac ritual in celebration of Harry Kupfer’s performance of Tristan (2000). Today they gave us high drama: the fire of love, desperation, jealousy with quickly changing rhythms, pointed tonal accents, waves of plastically defined accelerandi and ritardandi, overarching crescendo and decrescendo, and the colors of each instrument clearly and luminously defined.”

DANIEL BARENBOIM LEADS STAATSKAPELLE BERLIN IN PROGRAM OF SCHUMANN AND MAHLER
November 2006

On November 14th and 15th, in Berlin’s Konzerthaus and Philharmonie respectively, Daniel Barenboim led the Staatskapelle Berlin in a program featuring Schumann’s Piano Concerto and Mahler’s Symphony No. 9. The piano soloist was Radu Lupu.

The Berliner Zeitung said, “For Daniel Barenboim Mahler’s much-praised polyphony is not set in stone. Instead he creates a dissonant energy, which accelerates the movement to an astonishing pace. This can hardly be called beautiful but it rings true because with Daniel Barenboim truth is never linked to performance and interpretation but is a deeply-felt investigation of the score.” Commenting on the concerto, the Berliner Morgenpost wrote, “Between them, Daniel Barenboim and Lupu, brilliantly supported by the orchestra, create the ‘musical halo’ that the concerto deserves.”

DOROTHEA RÖSCHMANN AND DANIEL BARENBOIM OFFER LIEDMATINÉE DEVOTED TO WORKS BY SCHUMANN
November 2006

Replacing tenor Roman Trekel at short notice, the soprano Dorothea Röschmann performed songs by Robert Schumann on 12 November 2006, the 150th anniversary of the composer’s death. Daniel Barenboim was at the piano for the 11 a.m. concert at the Staatsoper Berlin.

DANIEL BARENBOIM PERFORMS TWO CONCERTOS AND A RECITAL AT THE NEW PALAU DE LES ARTS IN VALENCIA
November 2006

Daniel Barenboim was the soloist with the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana conducted by Zubin Mehta on November 1 and 4 at Valencia’s new Palau de les Arts. He performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, Emperor. The concert on November 4 was in celebration of the 60th anniversary of UNESCO. In between the two concerts, Barenboim gave an all Beethoven recital featuring the sonatas Nos. 30, 31 and 32.


DANIEL BARENBOIM TO RECEIVE THE HESSISCHER PEACE PRIZE
November 2006

Daniel Barenboim will be awarded the annual Hessischer Peace Prize for his efforts to improve communication between Israelis and Palestinians through the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, founded with Edward W. Said in 1999.

The Hessischer Peace Prize, which is endowed with 25,000 euros, was established in 1994 by Albert Osswald and is given annually to people who are active in working for peace and freedom. Previous winners have included the Dalai Lama, Alexander Lebed and Hans Blix.

The award ceremony will take place on 1 February 2007 in the Hessischer Landtag (Hessian State Parliament).

KNOWLEDGE IS THE BEGINNING WINS EMMY AWARD
November 2006

The film Knowledge is the Beginning has won the 2006 International Emmy Award for Arts Programming. The documentary, a co-production between EuroArts Music International and ZDF/ARTE, was directed by Paul Smaczny. The film tells the story of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, founded in 1999 by Daniel Barenboim and Edward W. Said. Smaczny accompanied the Orchestra for six years, from its inception in the process of making his film. “What has resulted,” wrote the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, “is a must-see cinematic work of art.”

DANIEL BARENBOIM RECEIVES UNDERSTANDING AND TOLERANCE AWARD FROM BERLIN’S JEWISH MUSEUM
November 2006

Daniel Barenboim and Helmut Panke, the former chief executive of BMW AG, received awards for “Understanding and Tolerance” from the Jewish Museum of Berlin on November 18th at a gala event attended by the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and leaders of the German political and business communities.

Barenboim was recognized for co-founding the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, composed of young musicians from Israel, the Palestinian territories and neighboring Arab countries.

The former German President Richard von Weiszäcker, delivering the tribute, praised Barenboim's "courage and shrewdness, his imagination and sobriety…. Daniel Barenboim has always believed in peace and worked for it through music the one language that can overcome the otherwise insurmountable walls of hatred and intolerance, of religion or national fanaticism."

Click here to read a transcript of Daniel Barenboim’s acceptance speech.

DANIEL BARENBOIM RECEIVES THE ROBERT SCHUMANN PRIZE
November 2006

The city of Zwickau honored Daniel Barenboim with the Robert Schumann Prize on November 12 in a ceremony held in the Apollosaal of the Staatsoper Berlin. The ceremony followed an all-Schubert lied matinée in which Barenboim was at the piano to accompany the soprano Dorothea Röschmann, who stood in at short notice for an indisposed Roman Trekel.

The prize was given in recognition of Daniel Barenboim’s interpretation of the composer’s works as well as for his contribution toward reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. The accolade was made by George Quander, formerly co-director, with Mr. Barenboim, of the Staatsoper Berlin and currently in charge of cultural affairs for the city of Cologne.

The Robert Schumann Prize comes with 10,000 euros. Daniel Barenboim announced that he would donate the prize money to the Staatsoper Berlin for the establishment of an Opera Studio to enable talented young singers to receive intensive professional training.

Former Robert Schumann prizewinners include Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Peter Schreier, Theo Adam, Alfred Brendel, Sviatoslav Richter and Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

ONE CONCERT, THREE CONCERTOS, DANIEL BARENBOIM IS SOLOIST WITH THE ORQUESTRA GULBENKIAN IN LISBON
October 2006

In the Grande Auditório on October 29th, Daniel Barenboim performed three concertos with the Orquestra Gulbenkian conducted by Lawrence Foster. Beethoven’s Triple Concerto was first on the program, Barenboim sharing the honors with violinist Michael Barenboim and cellist Kyril Zlotnikov. Next, Daniel Barenboim was the sole soloist in Schoenberg’s Piano Concerto and, to conclude the marathon, he returned to the piano for Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1.

STAATSKAPELLE BERLIN TOURS SPAIN AND FRANCE
October 2006

Between October 18th and 25th Daniel Barenboim led the Staatskapelle Berlin on a seven-concert tour to Barcelona, Zaragoza, Madrid and Paris. The tour repertoire included Mahler’s symphonies Nos. 5, 7 and 9 and piano concertos by Mozart (KV488), Beethoven (No. 5, ‘Emperor’) and Schumann. Barenboim was the soloist in Mozart concerto, Lang Lang performed the Beethoven and Radu Lupu was the soloist in the Schumann. Le Monde wrote, “Barenboim conducts as if there are no obstacles.”


DANIEL BARENBOIM PERFORMS PIANO CONCERTOS BY SCHOENBERG AND BEETHOVEN WITH THE BOSTON SYMPHONY UNDER JAMES LEVINE
October 2006

Following his Norton Lectures at Harvard University, Daniel Barenboim crossed the Charles River to join the Boston Symphony Orchestra for three performances of the Schoenberg Piano Concerto and Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 at Symphony Hall under the baton of James Levine. The Boston Globe said of the Schoenberg Concerto that "Barenboim calmly negotiated the giant leaps in the solo part and made himself heard through the pulverized melodies and martial blasts of the orchestra" and of the Beethoven, "Barenboim's playing showed strength through flexibility. Tempos and dynamics seemed to follow organically from the music." On October 9th, they reprised the program at Carnegie Hall in New York, where The New York Times reported, "Daniel Barenboim. and Mr. Levine seemed to be of one mind. Their reading of the Schoenberg was vivid and punchy, with an assertive and sometimes zesty piano line set within a thoroughly tactile orchestral fabric. . Mr. Barenboim's Beethoven was big-boned and warm in the opening Allegro, and fleet in the finale."


DANIEL BARENBOIM GIVES SIX LECTURES AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY AS CHARLES ELIOT NORTON PROFESSOR
September/October 2006

Daniel Barenboim, who was named the Charles Eliot Norton Professor at Harvard gave a series of six lectures in late September and early October of this year. The majority of the talks took place in John Knowles Paine Concert Hall with the final lecture in Sanders Theatre. Barenboim opened each talk with a set of preludes and fugues from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, performances that, in the words of the Boston Globe, "set a reflective, sober, yet humane tone for the proceedings." The lectures were titled "Sound and Thought" and were an attempt, in Barenboim's own words, "to draw some connection between the inexpressive content of music and the inexpressible content of life." For more information about the lectures, please click here: www.news.harvard.edu/gazette.


LIEDMATINEE AT THE STAATSOPER BERLIN WITH MAGDALENA KOZENÁ
September 2006

On September 10 at 11 a.m., Daniel Barenboim accompanied the mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kozená in a recital at the Staatsoper Berlin. The repertoire included Schumann's Frauenliebe und -leben, as well as songs by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Antonin Dvorák. The Berliner Morgenpost reported that Magdalena Kozená and Daniel Barenboim had "a perfect musical rapport" while Der Tagesspiegel said that "the strength of the interpretation was provided by Daniel Barenboim at the piano."

The recital was the first of three liedmatinees devoted to the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the death of Robert Schumann. In the remaining concerts, Daniel Barenboim accompanies Roman Trekel on November 2 and Rolando Villazon on March 26, 2007.


JERUSALEM INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL
September 2006

Daniel Barenboim joined colleagues flutist Guy Eshed, cellist Kyril Zlotnikov, double bassist Nabil Shehata, violinist Michael Barenboim, and violist Amichai Grosz in Jerusalem's YMCA Concert Hall in mid-September for performances of works by Mozart, Bruch, Schumann and Schubert as part of the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival. The festival was created nearly ten years ago by pianist Elena Bashkirova.


MUSSORGSKY'S BORIS GODUNOV
September 2006

Daniel Barenboim conducted Dmitri Tcherniakov's production of Boris Godunov at the Staatsoper Berlin in September with René Pape in the title role, Stephan Rügamer as Schuysky, Alexander Vinogradov as Pimen and Burkhard Fritz as Grigory.


FIRST SUBSCRIPTION CONCERT OF THE STAATSKAPELLE BERLIN'S 2006-2007 SEASON
September 2006

On September 5 and 6, at Berlin's Philharmonie and Konzerhaus respectively, the Staatskapelle Berlin under Daniel Barenboim offered its first subscription concert of the new season. The repertoire include Richard Strauss's tone poem Don Juan, Pierre Boulez's Notations I-IV and VII, Mozart's Piano Concerto KV488 with Mr. Barenboim at the piano, and Brahms's Symphony No. 4.

The world premiere of Notation VIII, originally scheduled to take place during these concerts, will take place as soon as possible upon completion of the work.


SCHOENBERG'S ERWARTUNG WITH ANJA SILJA
September 2006

On September 2, 3 and 10, Daniel Barenboim, the Staatskapelle Berlin and guest artist Anja Silja performed Schoenberg's Erwartung, directed by Robert Wilson.

Die Welt said that "under Daniel Barenboim's smooth leadership at the podium, the Staatskapelle's interpretation was almost unbearably beautiful" Neues Deutschland said, "The true strength came from the Staatskapelle under Daniel Barenboim, a glistening murmuring, a scream, hatred, love, longing, resignation. He recreated the extraordinary feelings of Schoenberg's composition with great intuition."


DANIEL BARENBOIM APPEARS AS CONDUCTOR AND SOLOIST WITH THE VIENNA PHILHARMONIC AT THE SALZBURG FESTIVAL
July 2006

On July 23 and 24, Daniel Barenboim performed as conductor and soloist with the Vienna Philharmonic at the Festspielhaus, Salzburg, in a program that included Mozart's Symphony No. 35 'Haffner' and Piano Concerto KV595, as well as the world premiere of Segue, Music for Cello and Orchestra by Johannes Maria Staud. Segue was commissioned by the Salzburg Festival. Heinrich Schiff was the cello soloist.

Die Presse said, "Barenboim, with rare involvement, gave us Mozart with passion. . Barenboim and his orchestra know exactly how to sharpen our musical sensitivities with the subtlest of nuances. This was again the almost forgotten sound of the true Vienna Philharmonic." Il Giornale wrote that Daniel Barenboim conducted the Vienna Philharmonic, "in a state of grace. . in Mozart's KV595 he captured the enthusiasm of his audience with an almost otherworldly elegance, an enticing sensuality and sensitive intelligence."


STAATSKAPELLE PERFORMS IN SPAIN
July 2006

On July 7, 8 and 9, Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin performed three programs at the Palacio Carlos V in Granada. The repertoire included Schoenberg's Erwartung, with Angela Denoke as the soloist, Mahler's Symphonies Nos. 1 and 9, Mozart's Piano Concerto KV488, with Daniel Barenboim conducting from the keyboard, and a concert performance of Act 2 of Tristan und Isolde with Katarina Dalayman, Ben Heppner, Michelle DeYoung, René Pape and Stephen Rügamer.


DANIEL BARENBOIM CONDUCTS PERFORMANCES OF CARMEN AT THE STAATSOPER BERLIN
July 2006

With Rollando Villazón as Don José, Alexander Vinogradov as Escamillo, Marina Domashenko as Carmen and Norah Amsellem as Micaëla, Daniel Barenboim conducted the Staatsoper Berlin in performances of Bizet's classic opera in a production by Martin Kusej. The performance on July 5 was broadcast live on ARTE.


STAATSOPER BERLIN TO COLLABORATE WITH ROSTOCK HOCHSCHULE FUR MUSIK UND THEATRE
June 2006

An agreement was signed in June setting out a collaboration between the Staatsoper Berlin and the University of Rostock's Academy of Music and Theatre departments so that students will be able to take part in rehearsals, workshops and masterclasses with Daniel Barenboim and other internationally known soloists and conductors.


DANIEL BARENBOIM WINS ECHO KLASSIK AWARD
June 2006

Daniel Barenboim was named Conductor of the Year as part of the 2006 ECHO KLASSIK awards presented by the Deutsche Phono-Akademie. The award honors his CD and DVD Live from Ramallah with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which also won the award for best music DVD of the year.

DANIEL BARENBOIM BRINGS 15-YEAR TENURE AT CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA TO A CLOSE WITH THREE WEEKS OF CONCERTS
May/June 2006

In a series of 17 concerts between May 25th and June 17th, Daniel Barenboim and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra marked the end of Barenboim's tenure as the Orchestra's music director, which began with the 1991-1992 season. Mr. Barenboim first collaborated with the Orchestra in 1970.

The concerts included 14 symphonic programs featuring highlights of the Barenboim/CSO partnership, a world premiere by the Orchestra's outgoing resident composer Augusta Read Thomas, a song recital with Thomas Hampson and a pair of piano recitals in which Mr. Barenboim performed Books I and II of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier.

On May 25, 26 and 27, Daniel Barenboim led the CSO, CSO Chorus and guest soloists Thomas Hampson, René Pape and Burkhard Fritz in Act III of Wagner's Parsifal and Boulez's Notations for Orchestra Nos I-IV and VII. John von Rhein, music critic of the Chicago Tribune, said, "Barenboim secured a sensuous and diaphanous web of sound, fully in control of the rising and falling harmonic tensions that shape the opera's long conversational lines." Reviewing in the Sun-Times, Wynne Delacoma described the Wagner as "a performance to savor. Barenboim is one of the world's finest Wagner conductors and he and the CSO have given some stellar Wagner performances .With an orchestra of the CSO's calibre front and center along with fine soloists and a conductor of Barenboim's insight and experience, Parsifal could not help taking on deeper shadings and levels of expressiveness." Of the Boulez performance, she wrote, "Often as light as Wagner is weighty, Boulez's Notations I, III, IV, VII and II attuned our ears to minutely calibrated musical detail. From the transparent shimmering strings of Notations I and VII to the angular, metallic clamor of Notations II, every instrument in the huge orchestra sang with a distinctive voice."

On May 28th, Daniel Barenboim accompanied Thomas Hampson in a recital in which the first half consisted of Schumann's Dichterliebe and the second half was devoted to American songs. The Sun-Times reflected that "one of the greatest pleasures of his 15-year tenure as Chicago Symphony Orchestra music director has been his habit of inviting friends and CSO colleagues to join him in chamber music concerts at Symphony Center. One of those good musical friends, the distinguished American baritone Thomas Hampson, took center stage with Barenboim at the piano in a recital that stretched from the exalted anguish of Robert Schumann's Lyrisches Intermezzo to a silly patter song from Charles Ives. . Barenboim and Hampson approach music from an angle that combines probing intellectual curiosity and unalloyed emotional truth." Describing the performance of Dichterliebe, the Chicago Tribune wrote, "With a voice of polished oak, Hampson gave the songs an emotional weight that made the poet's journey from frustrated longing to bitter resignation an experience powerful enough to silence the rude coughers in the crowd. The singer's face was a telling mirror of this pained odyssey of the soul, just as Barenboim's accompaniments (notably his sensitive handling of the piano postludes) created an ideal equipoise of voice and piano in dialogue."

May 30th, the CSO was joined by Thomas Quasthoff in a performance of Mahler's Kindertotenlieder, followed by the composer's Symphony No. 5. On June 1st and 2nd Kindertotenlieder remained the same but, in place of the symphony, the Orchestra performed Mozart's Masonic Funeral Music K477, Siegfried's Funeral Music from Wagner's Götterdämmerung and the world premiere of Augusta Read Thomas's Astral Canticle. On June 3rd, Mozart's Masonic Funeral Music was paired with Thomas's Astral Canticle and Beethoven's Symphony No. 3. The Chicago Tribune wrote, "Thomas has spent hundreds of hours with the Chicago Symphony and she knows its particular qualities inside and out. She designed Astral Canticle, in part, as a showcase for two of the finest principle players of the Barenboim era, flutist Mathieu Dufour and violinist Robert Chen, and the music she has tailor-made for each man is laced with palpable admiration. . Astral Canticle is one of Thomas' more immediately accessible pieces and there is something interesting taking place at any given moment." In Kindertotenlieder, "the peerless lieder singer held the audience in rapt submission, while Barenboim took care to balance the orchestra against the voice." The Sun-Times praised the "finely shaded performance of Mozart's Masonic Funeral Music" and Thomas Quasthoff's performance of Kindertotenlieder: "he was riveting, singing with all the urgent intimacy of a man desperate to tell his tale of soul-destroying loss." The reviewer also noted the "alternately chilling and exalted performance of Siegfried's Funeral Music from Wagner's Götterdämmerung: "Wagner's syncopated rhythms had the nervous energy of an irregular heatbeat, their dark, velvet-edged pounding seeming to come from the earth's deepest core. The CSO brass blazed with luminous warmth in the work's more transcendent moments."

On June 4th, Daniel Barenboim performed Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I after which he signed CDs, DVDs and books at the Symphony Store. Writing about Barenboim as a pianist, the Sun-Times wrote, "for most listeners and critics, [he is] simply one of the finest pianists on the stage today. .There is a haunting naturalness to Barenboim's piano playing. He is a pianist who seems to get out of the way of the music. Neither stiffly formal nor distractingly flamboyant, Barenboim plays with a clear yet subtly rich tone that goes to the heart of whatever composer is at hand. Coming away from a Barenboim recital, we usually feel as if we are hearing not Barenboim but Chopin or Mozart, Liszt or Schoenberg themselves - in their purest, and most unmediated state." Of the Bach recital specifically, the same reviewer said, "he turned in a performance of understated intensity. . Without sinking to distortion or overstatement, Barenboim unveiled the emotional heart of this compositional tour de force. . with his unsurpassingly even, clear touch at the piano, he was born to play this music. The most complicated, tangled melodic lines become clear under Barenboim's fingers."

The Chicago Tribune wrote, "Barenboim did not falter over the musically, mentally and spiritually demanding span of nearly three hours. His thoughtful, individual, deeply poetic Bach playing reminded us how much we will lose once he departs Chicago. Barenboim was reared on Bach and has spent most of his lifetime considering the relationship of Bach's preludes and fugues to everything that came before and everything that came after. So it was no surprise, for example, to hear intimations of Tristan und Isolde in the highly chromatic Prelude in C-sharp Minor. The pianist brought the full color resources of a modern concert grand to bear on Bach's pristinely ordered sound-world. . Preludes that danced with wonderful delicacy gave way to fugues weighted so as to evoke the sound of a mighty cathedral organ. The pianist used pedalling and a pearly legato to maintain a sense of effortless continuity. For all the smooth finish of his pianism, his playing was alive with rhythmic inflections and subtle dynamic gradations."

The program on June 8th and 13th paired two works by Webern, his Piano Concerto Op. 24 and his Symphony Op. 21 with Mozart's Piano Concertos Nos. 22 and 27. Daniel Barenboim did double honors in the Mozart and Webern concertos. "Barenboim's solos were beautifully articulated," wrote the Sun-Times of the Mozart concertos, "his tone rich but always unfurling in a clear, singing line" and of the Webern, "The lyrical impulse that always animates Barenboim's Mozart imparted a radiant glow to Webern's Concerto, Op. 24 and Symphony, Op 21." In its review, the Chicago Tribune said, "The fluid grace with which musical ideas passed from piano to orchestra and back again . spoke to the almost extrasensory communication Barenboim and the CSO have cultivated in the Mozart concerto repertory."

On June 9th and 10th, the guest soloist was Maxim Vengerov in Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 4 in D, K218, followed by Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. Of the concerto, the Chicago Tribune said, "The young Siberian-born virtuoso is one of Barenboim's star protégés, and the results of their close musical rapport were there for all to appreciate. Expressive warmth and charm did not have to be externally applied because these elements were central to the shared musical conception."

On June 11th, Daniel Barenboim performed Book II of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier. The Sun-Times said, "at Barenboim's final solo recital as Chicago Symphony Orchestra music director, the fun was equally divided between the performer and audience. The concert revealed much not only about Barenboim's astonishing artistry at the piano but, as is only fitting, about Bach as well. . One of Barenboim's gifts as a pianist is his ability to etch clear, long-lined, richly colored phrases with seemingly no effort. He has been playing solo piano in Chicago for more than 30 years. We have heard Barenboim's Beethoven and Chopin, Liszt and Duke Ellington. In his performances of the complete "Well-Tempered Clavier" we heard the foundation on which the rest of his music-making has been built. Members of the audience knew they were hearing something important. . The applause that brought Barenboim back for extra bows was fervent and heartfelt. Barenboim's annual piano recitals have been high points of Chicago's musical life for the past 15 years. They are appreciated and will be deeply missed."

On June 15th, 16th and 17th, Daniel Barenboim led the CSO in performances of the Ninth symphonies of Mahler, Bruckner and Beethoven, what The New York Times's James Oestreich referred to as his "Ninthfest." Each program also saw Barenboim at the piano, one in Elliott Carter's Soundings, the second evening in Boulez's Notations for Orchestra Nos. I-IV and VII and the final evening in Beethoven's Choral Fantasy.

Reviewing for The New York Times, Oestreich wrote, "it was the strings that impressed most in the [three] symphonies, plush and supple in the subsidiary themes of the first and third movements of Bruckner's Ninth and in Beethoven's Adagio. And quiet moments . were as charged with intensity as loud ones. Not that the orchestra - especially those huffing and puffing brasses - has lost any of its power. Nor did Mr. Barenboim hesitate to draw on it where appropriate. Bruckner's trademark brass choruses were firmly voiced and admirably balanced."

The Sun-Times, wrote, "Daniel Barenboim wrapped up his 15-year tenure as Chicago Symphony Orchestra music director with a grandly scaled evening of tears, cheers and heaven-storming Beethoven . Conductors always shake the concertmaster's hand while taking bows after concerts, but during one of his prolonged curtain calls, Barenboim waded into the orchestra to shake every player's hand. Some of the encounters were emotional, with Barenboim patting some weeping musicians on the cheek and exchanging warm hugs with several players.As a final tribute . the CSO's brass and drums burst into a brief, noisy fanfare traditionally known by its German name, tusch. Such tributes are exceedingly rare, reserved for the most momentous occasions and most revered artists. . Flamboyant pieces like the Choral Fantasy are not a major part of Barenboim's repertoire. But there was something exciting about seeing him alternately conducting the CSO and Chicago Symphony Chorus with vigor and hurling himself into Beethoven's wildly cascading piano solos, as well. Spontaneity in performance is one of Barenboim's artistic mantras, and there was a wonderful sense of world-class musicians gleefully going for broke in the Choral Fantasy."

The Chicago Tribune said of the final concert, "Orchestras typically employ Beethoven's Ode to Joy anthem as an act of dedication. On Saturday it became an act of commemoration, honouring an extraordinary relationship between a conductor and orchestra that lasted, off and on, for nearly four decades. . The great slow movement of the Beethoven Ninth sounded more prophetic than ever of the Mahler and Bruckner adagios one had heard the previous concerts - an oasis of solace and repose amid the cataclysmic activity surrounding it. The mysterious shimmering void of the opening movement promised a visionary journey, and that's what the ensuing 80 minutes of Beethoven brought us. . The energy level onstage was incredible. One CSO musician he and his colleagues felt they had never given so much of themselves before, and with such a single voice. . if these final three concerts are any indication . [Daniel Barenboim] has left the orchestra at the peak of their artistic collaboration."


CSO MUSICIANS ADOPT RESOLUTION NAMING DANIEL BARENBOIM "OUR HONORARY CONDUCTOR FOR LIFE"
June 2006

The musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra adopted a resolution conferring upon Daniel Barenboim the title of "Honorary Conductor for Life."

Their statement reads:

"Maestro Barenboim, This is a difficult time for us. After so many years, it is hard to believe that we will no longer be sharing the transcendent music experiences we have known with you. Yet we have chosen to celebrate this occasion, not to mourn it. We celebrate first of all our extraordinary good fortune in having had these years together. We will always cherish our memories of what we have accomplished under your leadership.

"We also celebrate because it is simply beyond imagining that this is the last time that you will conduct us. There is too much music left to make.

"So at this time, we do not wish to say good-bye. In the eyes of the musicians of the Chicago Symphony, you are our Honorary Conductor for Life. In this way, we wish to thank you for all that you have given us in the past, and to thank you in advance for all you have left still to give."


DANIEL BARENBOIM IS NAMED MAESTRO SCALIGERO AT LA SCALA, MILAN
May 2006

Daniel Barenboim has been named Maestro "Scaligero" at La Scala, Milan, a role that he will combine with his current position as General Music Director of the Staatsoper Berlin. His first appearance at La Scala under the new arrangement will be a performance of Verdi's Requiem in commemoration, in November 2007, of the 50th anniversary of the death of Arturo Toscanini.

The announcement also signals the start of a general collaboration between La Scala, Milan and the Staatsoper Berlin that will involve a number of joint productions and the sharing of musicians, singers and directors, beginning with a Don Giovanni to be produced at La Scala by the Staatsoper's Artistic Director Peter Mussbach and culminating with a joint production of the Ring Cycle in 2010-2011 in which Das Rheingold and Die Walküre will be produced by La Scala and Siegfried and Götterdämmerung by the Staatsoper Berlin. The entire cycle will then be performed in both cities.

Daniel Barenboim will lead La Scala's orchestra and chorus in concerts, serve as soloist in concerts and chamber recitals and take part in educational activities including masterclasses at La Scala's performing arts academy. He will also be involved in the opening of a music kindergarten, similar to the one that opened in Berlin in September 2005.


DANIEL BARENBOIM LEADS STAATSKAPELLE BERLIN TOUR TO DUSSELDORF AND VIENNA
May 2006

Between May 9 and 14, Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin performed a cycle of works by Beethoven and Schoenberg at the Musikverein in Vienna. The programs included all the Beethoven Piano Concertos plus the Choral Fantasy and a number of works by Schoenberg including Pelleas und Melisande, Verklärte Nacht, Erwartung, Variations Op. 31, ein Überlebender aus Warschau and Fünf Orchesterstücke, Op. 16. The Vienna concerts were preceded by one at the Tonhalle in Düsseldorf on May 8, also with a Beethoven/Schoenberg program.

Der Standard said that "we have yet to praise Daniel Barenboim's almost frightening precision and explosive brilliance as a pianist - so much in evidence as the soloist in Beethoven's second and third piano concertos. While conducting or wiping the perspiration from his brow with one hand, he still managed to let the 64th note passages rise up from within the bass regions, peal off the cadenzas, almost sang the cantillation, and always managed to meet up with the orchestra, which followed him throughout with unfailing certainty, right on cue." The Wiener Zeitung wrote that Barenboim presents Pelleas und Melisande "as a wonderful sequel to Romanticism and himself as one of the last romantics amongst musicians. . Feeling, pathos, silence. Daniel Barenboim dares to show musical opulence - and in the end his audience is won over." Regarding Beethoven's First Piano Concerto, the reviewer praises the way Barenboim's "Muted touch endows this delicate chamber music with the most exquisite beauty. . what a singular musician Daniel Barenboim proves himself to be when he communicates the necessary momentum with nothing but a brief gesture or a cursory glance."


DANIEL BARENBOIM IS AWARDED THE ERNST VON SIEMENS PRIZE
May 2006

On May 12, Daniel Barenboim was presented with the International Music Prize of the Ernst von Siemens Foundation in a ceremony in Vienna, where he was appearing in concerts with the Staatskapelle Berlin. Pierre Boulez gave the laudatory address. A statement from the Siemens Foundation said, "Daniel Barenboim is a universal musician who has given us outstanding interpretations for the entire classical and romantic repertoire and who is also firmly committed to the cause of contemporary music."

The Ernst von Siemens Music Prize is given each year to a composer, performer or musicologist who has made an outstanding contribution to international musical life.

Daniel Barenboim has announced that he intends to donate 100,000 Euros of the 150,000 Euro award to help pay for remodelling of the Staatsoper Berlin. The remaining 50,000 Euros will be used to create a new Barenboim Music Education Foundation


DANIEL BARENBOIM RECEIVES PEACE PRIZE FROM THE KORN AND GERSTENMANN FOUNDATION
May 2006

Daniel Barenboim was awarded the Peace Prize of the Korn and Gerstenmann Foundation. It was the third time the prize has been given since it was established in 1985 by Abraham Korn and his sister in memory of their niece who was killed in a World War II concentration camp. The award ceremony was held in Frankfurt in early May. Daniel Barenboim pledged to use the cash award of 50,000 Euros to establish an institute in Israel for the study of Arab music.


EUROPAKONZERT 2006 IN PRAGUE
May 2006

Daniel Barenboim led the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in its traditional Europakonzert on May 1 in Prague's open air theatre. The Europakonzert commemorates the founding of the Berlin Philharmonic in 1882 and takes place each year on May 1 in a different European venue of cultural importance. Daniel Barenboim previously conducted the Europakonzert 1992 in Madrid and the Europakonzert 1997 in Versailles. On the all-Mozart program broadcast around the world from Prague this year were the Symphonies Nos. 35 K385 (Haffner) and 36 K425 (Linz) , the Piano Concerto in E-flat Major K482, with Daniel Barenboim as soloist, and the Horn Concerto in D Major K412/514 (386b), with the Berlin Philharmonic's first horn Radek Baborak as soloist.


ZUBIN MEHTA CELEBRATES HIS 70TH BIRTHDAY WITH A BENEFIT CONCERT IN MUNICH - DANIEL BARENBOIM IS THE SOLOIST
April 2006

Zubin Mehta, General Music Director of the Bayerischen Staatsoper, celebrated his 70th birthday by conducting a matinée benefit concert at the Munich National Theatre the proceeds of which will go to the Orchestra Academy. His longtime friend Daniel Barenboim lent a hand with a performance of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor) . At the end of the concert, Mehta and Barenboim, arm in arm, conducted the orchestra in a version of Happy Birthday by Igor Stravinsky.


DANIEL BARENBOIM PERFORMS ALL-MOZART PROGRAM WITH THE BERLIN PHILHARMONIC
April 2006

Daniel Barenboim conducted the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in an all-Mozart program at the Philharmonie in late April. The repertoire included the Haffner and Linz symphonies, Piano Concerto K482, with Mr. Barenboim at the piano, and two arias, Ch'io mi scordi di te KV 505 and Parto, parto with Cecilia Bartoli as the soloist. The Berliner Zeitung wrote that "[Daniel Barenboim] works with spontaneity, the spur of the moment, musicianship as action, rather than a prepared interpretation."


FESTTAGE 2006
April 2006

Daniel Barenboim inaugurated the Festtage at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden ten years ago. Each year since then, around Easter, there have been performances of two Wagner operas and symphonic concerts, all under the baton of Daniel Barenboim.

Festtage 2006 comprised productions of Tristan und Isolde and Parsifal, an orchestral program consisting of Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht, Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto and Mahler's Symphony No. 1 as well as recitals by Daniel Barenboim of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Books I and II.

The new production of Tristan und Isolde was by the young theatre director Stefan Bachmann with set designs by Herzog & de Meuron. The cast included Peter Sieffert and Katarina Dalayman in the title roles, René Pape as König Marke, Roman Trekel as Kurwenal, Reiner Goldberg as Melot and Michelle DeYoung as Brangäne. The Berliner Morgenpost wrote that, "a lot has been written about the longing for a mythical union of love and death in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. But that surely applies only to the words. There is nothing otherworldly in the music, nor any doubt about its message: it is pure sex. And the only way to deal with it is to play it with exactly the uninhibited abandon with which Daniel Barenboim dared to present the piece." Musical America said that, "Barenboim quite properly [whipped] his magnificent Staatskapelle into an almost orgasmic frenzy . The singers and instrumentalists...covered themselves in glory."

Parsifal was staged by the film producer Bernd Eichinger and featured a cast consisting of Hanno Mueller-Brachmann as Amfortas, Christof Fischesser as Titurel, René Pape as Gurnemanz, Burkhard Fritz as Parsifal, Jochen Schmeckenbecher as Klingsor and Michaela Schuster as Kundry.

Nikolaj Znaider was the soloist in Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in e minor, which was complemented by Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht and Mahler's Symphony No. 1.

On April 13 and 15, Daniel Barenboim performed Books I and II of J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier at the Philharmonie. In an article about Festtage 2006, The Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung said of the Well-Tempered Klavier performances, "When Daniel Barenboim plays Bach, we hear the overture to Wagner's Meistersinger, Tristan's motif on love, a lot of Brahms, a little Mahler. But most of all, we can hear Barenboim himself. He is someone who doesn't need the swagger, the histrionics and criticisms. Someone who wears a tie when he makes music, yet never seems to have heard of fashion. Barenboim does not operate within the categories of a 'Zeitgeist' but in those of the classics." Elsewhere, the reviewer commented that, "Barenboim has turned around many a city: Chicago, Paris - and he was the first to arrive in the German capital, immediately after the Fall of the Wall . He has made the Staatskapelle into the most prolific orchestra around, more recognizable than [the Berlin Philharmonic].


STAATSKAPELLE BERLIN PERFORMS SCHOENBERG AND BEETHOVEN PROGRAM
March 2006

On March 19 and 21, at the Philharmonie and at the Konzerthaus respectively, Daniel Barenboim led the Staatskapelle Berlin in performances of Schoenberg's Erwartung and two works by Beethoven, the Piano Concerto No. 4 and the Choral Fantasy. Soprano Angela Denoke was the soloist in Erwartung while Daniel Barenboim did the honours in the piano concerto and Choral Fantasy, joined by the outstanding Staatsopernchor.

Reviewing the Schoenberg work, Der Tagesspiegel wrote, "The Staatskapelle Berlin, as if whipped into ecstasy by Daniel Barenboim, produced unprecedented and excessive patterns of sound, yet simultaneously appeared to caress the singer's voice and carry her through the passionate surges of the complex score with its transparent, glaring highlights. . As if the nervous energy of Erwartung were impossible to shake off, Daniel Barenboim played Beethoven's Fourth Concerto with shaking tremolos, strenuous cadenzas and sheer musical turmoil - juxtaposed with the softest pianissimos. . Daniel Barenboim's piano solo in the Choral Fantasy was pitched to the extreme, with thunderous harmonies followed by pointedly tapped staccato. These in turn are relieved by the Staatsopernchor's sensitive lyricism, which transposes the mood to raptures of delight."

The Berliner Morgenpost wrote, "Incomparable was the juxtaposition of poetic smoothness and the mysterious darkness, which characterised [Barenboim's] interpretation of the Fourth Piano Concerto. His phrases were delivered crisply and with brittle edginess. The tempi were flexible .. The orchestral passages peppered with witty idiosyncrasies and yet performed with apparently effortless abandon. Berlin's Staatskapelle glittered in a thousand colours and left nothing wanting."

DON GIOVANNI IN BERLIN
March 2006

On March 12, 15 and 18, Daniel Barenboim conducted Don Giovanni at the Staatsoper Berlin. In the production by Thomas Langhoff, Don Giovanni was played by René Pape, Donna Anna by Anna Samuil, Don Ottavio by Charles Castronovo, Komtur and Masetto by Mikhail Petrenko, Donna Elvira by Dorothea Röschmann, Leporello by Kwangchul Youn and Zerlina by Sylvia Schwartz.


DANIEL BARENBOIM GIVES MOZART FOUR-HAND RECITAL WITH RADU LUPU AT CARNEGIE HALL
February 2006

On February 20, Daniel Barenboim and Radu Lupu offered a four-hand Mozart recital at Carnegie Hall, performing the sonatas in C Major KV 521 and F Major KV 497, the Andante with Five Variations in G Major KV 501, the Fantasia in F minor KV 608 and the Sonata in D Major in D Major KV 448 for Two Pianos.


STAATSKAPELLE BERLIN TOURS NORTH AMERICA
February 2006

Between February 3 and 12, Daniel Barenboim led the Staatskapelle Berlin on an all-Mozart North American tour that took in Puerto Rico (two programs), Miami and Naples, Florida; Philadelphia, Boston and New York's Carnegie Hall (two programs). The programs included Symphonies No 39 KV 543, No 41 KV 551 (Jupiter), KV 183, KV 550 and piano concertos No 22 KV 482 and No 23 KV 488. At Carnegie Hall on February 11, Radu Lupu joined Daniel Barenboim for a performance of Mozart's Concerto for Two Pianos KV 365.

In a review titled Berlin Staatskapelle, a historical treasure, the Philadelphia Enquirer's David Patrick Stearns wrote, "From the first chords of Mozart's Symphony No. 39, you knew you were hearing living history. … Barenboim was in great form. Both as conductor in two Mozart symphonies and as pianist, he was full of vitality, the concerto having everything you could ask for, such as a sense of truth in every note, with a fine sense of the big picture.. ."

The Boston Globe's Richard Dyer wrote, "The orchestra makes a wonderful sound, with more prominent and pungent reeds and winds than we are used to … Barenboim's take on Mozart is in some respects old-fashioned - the sound is big to match the music's gestures and emotions, and the unbroken legato is sumptuous. Because this way is authentic for him and his orchestra, it worked. … Last night [Barenboim] was in magnificent form [as a pianist] playing with sprightly rhythms and ravishing colors and dynamics."

In Boston, there was also an unplanned, unannounced bonus as James Levine, music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, joined Daniel Barenboim on stage for a four-hand Rondo in C Major by - who else? - Mozart. In the words of Richard Dyer, "Levine took the bass part, anchoring the harmony and serving as the rhythm section, while Barenboim wove poised and translucent arabesques in the treble. The informal interaction of these two great musicians and the spontaneity and charm of the performance could only arise in a live concert."

In The New York Times Allan Kozinn wrote, "[Barenboim's] performances argued forcefully for a return to the Mozart of the 1940s and 50's. That is, big muscular, beef-fed, steroid-injected Mozart: the kind of Mozart for whom Beethoven (particularly late Beethoven) is the logical next stop, with Mahler just a few paces down the road. It was, in other words, defiantly retro Mozart, and because Mr. Barenboim conducted it that way out of deep conviction - this is the Mozart he grew up with - it was remarkably persuasive. … Mr. Barenboim and Radu Lupu offered a lively dialogue in their reading of the E flat Concerto for Two Pianos. And Mr. Barenboim's performance of the Concerto No. 22 had a lovely chamber music quality, between bouts of orchestral monumentality."


FEBRUARY IN CHICAGO
February 2006

Daniel Barenboim kicked off his February residency with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on Valentine's Day with a sold-out performance of Schubert's last two symphonies, No. 8 (Unfinished) and No. 9 (Great). Wynne Delacoma of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote, "The qualities that Barenboim has worked mightily to instill in the CSO over his 15 years as music director were on glorious display. . Clarity of texture is something that Barenboim prizes, and both the Eighth and Ninth symphonies were full of delicious detail."

On Feb 16, 17 and 18, Daniel Barenboim was both soloist and conductor in two piano concertos by Mozart: KV 446 and KV365. In the Two Piano Concerto KV 365, he was was joined at the second piano by his long-time friend and colleague Radu Lupu. The third work in the program was the world premiere of Nocturno by the German composer Isabel Mundry and commissioned by the CSO. Nocturno is the second part of a triptych inspired by the poetry of Federico Garcia Lorca. John von Rhein of the Chicago Tribune said, "Barenboim and the orchestra gave Nocturno a persuasive performance." Of the Concerto for Two Pianos, he said that Daniel Barenboim and Radu Lupu "captured the genial conversational style with rounded tone, springy attacks, soft releases and limpid passage work. The pianists appeared to be having a great time, and so was the audience." The Chicago Sun-Times reported that, "the two friends were well paired. . Both Barenboim and Lupu seemed invigorated by the other's clarity of tone and cleanly etched but always succulent playing."

As an encore, the two pianists performed the Adagio from Mozart's Sonata in D for Two Pianos KV 448.

On February 19th, Daniel Barenboim and Radu Lupu performed an all-Mozart recital consisting of works for piano four hands and two pianos. The program, repeated the following evening at Carnegie Hall in New York City, included the Sonatas KV 521 and KV 497 for piano four hands, the Andante and Variations for Piano Four Hands KV 501, the Fantasia KV 608 and the Sonata for Two Pianos KV 448. The Chicago Tribune wrote, "Friends and partners across one or more keyboards for more than 30 years, Barenboim and Lupu approached Mozart's piano four-hand music much as their forebears did - as if they were performing for an intimate circle of close acquaintances. . The sonatas were notable for the conversational ease with which the pianists dovetailed phrases, sculpted long legato lines and brought out the music's playful wit. Each mirrored the other's articulation, and each was careful not to exceed the other's expressive bounds." In the Sonata for Two Pianos K448, "The musical dialogues were as crisp and pointed as could be, without any sense of one pianist trying to top the other. Rippling passages flowed between the Steinways with the greatest spontaneity; the figuration danced with rare refinement. Barenboim and Lupu ended in a whirl of ebullient virtuosity."

On February 23 and 25 Daniel Barenboim led the CSO in Mozart's Piano Concerto KV 503 with Alfred Brendel as the soloist. The program continued with Schoenberg's Pelleas and Melisande, which was inspired by the play of the same name by Maurice Maeterlinck. The Chicago Tribune said, "the grand symphonic dimensions of [the] concerto triggered congruent responses from both veteran Mozarteans. The result was an exceptionally vigorous, warm-blooded reading." Of the Schoenberg work, he wrote, "It takes a conductor with a clear-headed sense of perspective to save this music from its own excesses. Barenboim stirred the passions knowingly, pointed the climaxes deftly and applied the colors lavishly. The orchestra answered the challenges of the score with power, precision and imagination."

On February 24 Daniel Barenboim was the soloist and Zubin Mehta was on the podium conducting the CSO in Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 1 in front of a packed house with sales benefiting the Orchestra's Pension Fund. In 1986, Mehta made his CSO conducting debut in a program in which Daniel Barenboim had been the soloist in the same concerto, so this was a reprise of sorts. In the view of the Chicago Tribune, "Barenboim wrestled this formidable music to the ground in a convincing and ultimately triumphant manner. . [He] thundered through the massive chordal runs and knotty passagework, bringing brio as well as poetry to Brahms's craggy Romantic rhetoric. . The sweeping finale found him both light-fingered and rhythmically incisive.. The capacity audience rose to its feet in roaring acclaim."

Leading up to the end of this winter residency, producers and staff from the British Broadcasting Company visited Chicago, preparing to record the second of five Reith Lectures that Daniel Barenboim will present in 2006. Mr. Barenboim spoke to a clearly riveted Chicago audience on Saturday morning, February 25, an event that concluded with a fascinating question-and-answer session, moderated by broadcast host and BBC announcer Sue Lawley. Pianist Alfred Brendel and conductors Zubin Mehta and Lawrence Foster were among the many people in the large and distinguished Chicago lecture audience, full of educators, students, cultural leaders, musicians, and many other professionals. Throughout his five Reith lectures, Mr. Barenboim has stated that he will argue "that music lies at the heart of our understanding of what it is to be human and that music provides a way of making sense of our world: our politics, our history, our future, and our very essence."


STAATSKAPELLE BERLIN MOZART/CARTER PROGRAM
January 2006

Back in Berlin, Daniel Barenboim conducted a program at the Konzerthaus and at the Philharmonie with the Staatskapelle Berlin featuring Mozart's Symphony in G minor KV 550 and the Piano Concerto in E-flat Major KV 482 between which Mr. Barenboim and his Berlin orchestra gave the European premiere of Elliott Carter's Soundings. The five-minute work, commissioned by the Chicago Symphony, is dedicated to Daniel Barenboim. The Berliner Morgenpost wrote that, "….Carter's dedication seems almost tongue-in-cheek. The Mega-Composition takes exactly five minutes. It ends in two notes on the piano, to be played with the fingertips, a 'd' and a 'b'. This musical monogram signifies the dedication's recipient: Daniel Barenboim. He can count himself lucky. Soundings is as short as it is original and tailor-made for Daniel Barenboim in his dual role as pianist and conductor. The composer, with an appropriate understanding of this double challenge, has kept the orchestral and piano section strictly separate. This helps the pianist as well as the conductor and delights the audience. Barenboim and his piece were rewarded with ample - and amused - applause."


EUROPEAN RECITAL TOUR FEATURES BACH'S WELL TEMPERED CLAVIER (BOOK II)
January and March 2006

Daniel Barenboim performed Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier (Book II) in January in Munich, Brussels, Zurich, Madrid, Barcelona, Paris and London. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported that, "It has always been Daniel Barenboim's particular strength as a pianist to take each individual note and make it shine, to give it three-dimensionality and a very specific individual coloration. … Yet [Barenboim] is also careful never to underestimate the significance of tonality. The technique of fugues does, after all, always depend on the predominance of the melodic line and Barenboim has a wonderful ear for the melodic attractions in the Preludes and Fugues. He listens lovingly, it seems, and filled with the joy of rubato. Sentimentality or lamentation have no place in his musical imagination. On the contrary: a sensitive spirituality characterizes this pianist's artistic personality and pervades all his work. The only way to truly comprehend Daniel Barenboim's Bach interpretations is to see them as a personal confession…"

The Times (London) said, "We heard the fruits of a lifetime's thinking and feeling in his kaleidoscope of colours and teasing of speeds. Barenboim's Bach … is the middle-aged romantic's Bach, never frozen in intellectual rigour, aflame but within cautious limits. His pearls were the most reflective preludes, those coiling around long melodic lines, lightly decorated with trills; or a mill-pond fugue such as No. 18, where his subtle tautening and easing of tension and dynamics created the night's best magic."


DANIEL BARENBOIM IS AWARDED THE ERNST VON SIEMENS MUSIC PRIZE
January 2006

The Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation announced that it will give its prestigious Music Prize this year to Daniel Barenboim. The prize is awarded annually to "a composer, performer or musicologist who has made an outstanding contribution to international music life." The foundation said, "Daniel Barenboim is a universal musician, who has given us outstanding interpretations of the entire classical and romantic repertoire and who is also firmly committed to the cause of contemporary music."

The prize ceremony will take place on 12 May 2006 in Vienna with an address given by the French composer and conductor Pierre Boulez, himself a former winner of the Ernst von Siemens prize.

Mr. Barenboim will donate 100,000 Euros of the prize money for refurbishment of the Staatsoper Berlin and the remaining 50,000 Euros to a new Barenboim Foundation for Music Education.


TWO MORE PRIZES FOR DANIEL BARENBOIM
January 2006

On January 17th, Daniel Barenboim was named an honorary member of the Socio de Honor del Círculo de Lectores "for his work on behalf of peace in the Middle East through the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and for his career as a pianist and conductor". The ceremony, attended by 1500 people from the arts, media and financial sectors, took place at the Liceo in Barcelona. Circulo de Lectores, part of the Bertelsmann Media Group, is one of the most prestigious distributors of books and music in Spain.

The following day, also in Barcelona, during celebrations of UNA-Spain's 60th anniversary, the organisation (the Association for the United Nations in Spain) awarded Daniel Barenboim its 26th Peace Award.


DANIEL BARENBOIM TO GIVE 2006 BBC REITH LECTURES
January 2006

John Reith, the BBC's first Director-General, believed broadcasting should be a public service that enriches the intellectual and cultural life of the nation. In this spirit, each year since 1948, the BBC has invited a leading figure to deliver a series of lectures that are broadcast on the radio.

Daniel Barenboim has been chosen to deliver the Reith Lectures in 2006. He will argue that music lies at the heart of our understanding of what it is to be human and that music provides a way of making sense of the world: our politics, our history, our future and our very essence. Mr. Barenboim is the first performer to deliver the lectures and, in a break with tradition, his lectures will be punctuated with musical illustrations. The 2006 Reith Lectures, which Mr. Barenboim will deliver in London, Chicago, Berlin, Ramallah and Jerusalem, will be broadcast in the UK on BBC Radio 4 and in Europe on the BBC World Service in April and May 2006. They will also be available online at www.bbc.co.uk/radio4 during the same period.


DANIEL BARENBOIM IS CONDUCTOR AND PIANIST IN AN ALL-MOZART PROGRAM WITH GUEST ARTIST RADU LUPU
January 2006

The first proper concert of the New Year at the Staatsoper Berlin on January 3 was dedicated to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whose 250th birthday is celebrated in 2006. Daniel Barenboim conducted the Staatskapelle Berlin in Mozart's Symphonies Nos. 39 KV 543 and 41 'Jupiter' KV551. In between performances of the symphonies, Radu Lupu and Barenboim were the soloists in Mozart's concerto for two pianos, KV365. Daniel Barenboim conducted from the piano.


DANIEL BARENBOIM AND THE STAATSKAPELLE BERLIN CELEBRATE THE NEW YEAR WITH BEETHOVEN
December 31 2005 and January 1 2006

For several years the Staatskapelle Berlin has bid the old year farewell and welcomed in the new with performances of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. This year, Daniel Barenboim conducted the Orchestra and Staatsopernchor with soloists Anna Samuil, Rosemarie Lang, Burkhard Fritz and Hanno-Müller Brachmann.