Today is the birthday of conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim. Considered one of the greatest living authorities in classical music, the Argentinian born artist started his career at the age of ten when he gave his first international performances as a pianist. He also went on to become one of the world’s leading conductors. He achieved additional renown as the co-founder of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and Trust, which promotes collaboration between young musicians from Israel and Arab countries. This year saw his first performance at the jubilee 70th  Ljubljana Festival with the orchestra.

Since 1992, he has been the general music director of the Berlin State Opera. Another of his accomplishments was to establish the Barenboim-Said Academy, which trains gifted musicians from the Near East and North Africa, in particular for professional careers in music. Last month, the great maestro announced on social media that he was retreating from the conducting podium for health reasons, so we would like to take this opportunity to wish him a happy birthday and, most importantly, a successful and speedy recovery.