Intendant Matthias Schulz and the orchestra board of the Staatskapelle Berlin are pleased to present their long-time former general music director Daniel Barenboim with a double award simultaneously and together: honorary membership of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden and the title of honorary chief conductor of the Staatskapelle Berlin. A ceremonial handover of the certificates will take place shortly in the Apollo Hall. The designated artistic director Elisabeth Sobotka and the designated general music director Christian Thielemann also extend their warmest congratulations and are happy about this decision.
Image above: Außenansicht, Credits: Staatsoper Unter den Linden / Marcus Ebener
Director Matthias Schulz: “Daniel Barenboim is one of the greatest musicians of our time. What he has achieved not only for the Staatskapelle Berlin, but also for the institution of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, the city of Berlin and the music world over 30 years, is more than impressive. As general music director, he has always advocated the combination of opera and concerts and has advocated for the interaction of these artistic areas. That’s why we decided together that Daniel Barenboim should receive a double honor. The Staatsoper Unter den Linden and the Staatskapelle Berlin say: Thank you, Daniel Barenboim! Thank you for the time together, the journey together and a shared history, the meaning of which will only gradually be fully understood.”
Orchestra board of the Staatskapelle Berlin: “Together with Daniel Barenboim, the Staatskapelle Berlin has experienced countless great musical moments in opera and concerts on the great stages of the world. Maestro Barenboim has had a lasting influence on, supported and challenged our orchestra through his intensive work over more than 30 years and over time has shaped it into a unique sound body. With the title of Honorary Chief Conductor, we would like to express our gratitude and salute this life’s achievement with great solidarity.”
Daniel Barenboim: “The gesture of this double award fills me with happiness and gratitude; I am particularly honored and touched by the title of Honorary Chief Conductor. It is with great pleasure that I accept both honors! For over 30 years, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden was my musical home, and the musicians of the Staatskapelle Berlin were my musical family. Together we experienced great musical moments in opera and concerts in Berlin and on podiums around the world. I look back with gratitude and fulfillment on 30 years of making music together and remain warmly connected to the State Opera.”
“It is no exaggeration to say that Daniel Barenboim was the musical center of Berlin for over 30 years. He has shaped the State Opera like no other musician before. The award is an expression of the greatest gratitude and close connection and fills me with pride and joy,” said the designated director Elisabeth Sobotka.
The entire staff of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden and the musicians of the Staatskapelle Berlin look back with great gratitude at the 30-year era marked by their former general music director Daniel Barenboim (from the beginning of 1992 until his resignation for health reasons on January 31, 2023 ) – more than three decades of intensive, fulfilling and artistically extremely fruitful collaboration with the Staatsoper Unter den Linden and the Staatskapelle Berlin. Since Daniel Barenboim conducted the orchestra and the State Opera Choir publicly for the first time at the turn of 1991/92 in a performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and followed by the first opera production with Wagner’s “Parsifal” in the fall of 1992, an impressive number of performances have accumulated: 760 musical theater performances (opera and ballet) and over 850 concerts add up to over 1,600 performances. This includes over 450 appearances on guest tours that took Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin to around 80 cities and around 90 opera houses and concert halls worldwide. There were also numerous, award-winning CD and DVD productions, which once again underline the high status and the excellent artistic quality of many years of joint work. Daniel Barenboim’s performances as a pianist, accompanist and chamber music partner, such as his concerts with prominent guest orchestras that were associated with the Staatsoper Unter den Linden (such as the FESTTAGEN, which he brought to life in 1996), are also part of the overall picture of these three decades. as well as immensely worthwhile, sustainably effective activities to promote young talent, such as the founding of the Orchestra Academy and the International Opera Studio. Through Daniel Barenboim’s comprehensive, enormously diverse work, which extends far beyond Berlin and the Unter den Linden State Opera in terms of its artistic and overall cultural significance, he has set new standards. Thanks to him, the traditional Staatskapelle, which has existed for over 450 years, has gained great national and international reputation as one of the world’s leading opera and symphony orchestras. For the first time in its history, the Staatskapelle Berlin – which has previously appointed Otmar Suitner, Pierre Boulez and Zubin Mehta as honorary conductors – is awarding Daniel Barenboim the title of “honorary chief conductor”. As an honorary member of the Unter den Linden State Opera, he also joins a group of outstanding artistic personalities from the past and present who have done something special for the house and its artistic development.
