Daniel Barenboim

Barenboim’s professional debut as a pianist was in 1952 at the very young age of ten, when he played venues in Vienna and Rome. Three years later, he would perform in Paris. And a year after that, London. He would eventually reach American shores in 1957 when he played in New York under the baton of renowned conductor Leopold Stokowski. 

He would mostly be known as a conductor, however. His professional conducting career started in 1962, first performing in Israel and then with the Melbourne and Sydney symphony orchestras in Australia. He would also serve as a guest conductor in several cities around Europe and the United States. For instance, he worked as Orchestre de Paris’ music director from 1975 to 1989. However, two years before leaving that position, Barenboim was the musical and artistic director of the new Bastille Opera in Paris in 1987. But he got dismissed from the job due to falling into disputes with the socialist government in Paris.

Aside from this, he also took the post of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s music director, succeeding the renowned Sir Georg Solti. Barenboim took over the orchestra when his predecessor retired in 1991, keeping the post for 15 years. 

But again, his contributions to fighting unrest in the Middle East are at the forefront of his accomplishments. He firmly believed that music could improve relations in the region, so he co-founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in 1999 with Palestinian-American activist and scholar Edward Said. The orchestra featured Arab and Israeli musicians working together to create beautiful music, which was an unprecedented feat during the height of tensions.