"It is with a combination of pride and sadness that today I announce to you that for the next few months I will take a step back from some of my concert activities, in particular my conducting commitments".
With these words Daniel Barenboim, 80 years old, announced that he had to retire from the scene.
A serious neurological disease was the cause of the great pianist and conductor being removed from the stage.
The artist had already canceled several engagements in February and April due to health problems.
“Now I have to focus as much as possible on my physical well-being,” he wrote on his Twitter profile: “Music has always been and continues to be an essential and lasting part of my life.
I have lived my entire life in and through music, and will continue to do so as long as my health permits.
Looking back and forth, I'm not only happy, but deeply satisfied. "
Barenboim has been musical director of the Berlin State Opera since 1992 and of his Orchestra and is under contract until 2027. The artist proved to be an enfant prodige already at the age of 7, he studied with maestro Vincenzo Scaramuzza then with Claudio Arrau and then with Edwin Fischer.
Born in Buenos Aires in 1942 to Russian parents of Jewish origin, he also has Israeli, Spanish and Palestinian citizenship.
As a pianist he is an established Mozart interpreter.