Daniel Barenboim: Conductor announces Parkinson’s disease

Conductor Daniel Barenboim (82) has Parkinson’s. The musician had already given the musical direction of the Berlin State Opera in 2023 due to health -related. Now he announced the reason for his health problems in a statement.

that the 82-year-old published on Thursday (February 6th): “I know that many people were worried about my health, and the support I have received in the past three years has touched me a lot. I would like to tell today that I am suffering from Parkinson’s disease. ” He found his way around this new reality and focused on the best possible treatment, he continued.

The conductor does not want to give up his job completely. In the future he would also plan “to maintain as many of my professional obligations as possible. If I am unable to appear, then because my health does not allow me.”

The Argentinian has a special concern of his Western Eastern Divan Orchestra, in which musicians from Israel and the Arab countries play together and which he sees as his “most important responsibility”. As long as it allows his health, he will continue to conduct, at the same time he wants to work for “that the divan can also work with other excellent conductors in the future.”

Barenboim was born in Buenos Aires in 1942 and was artistic director and general music director of the Berlin State Opera Unter den Linden from 1992 to 2023. He received numerous honors for his work and commitment, including the German Grand Federal Cross of Merit.