Argentine-Israeli pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim, 80, has announced his resignation as general director of the Berlin State Opera due to a «significant deterioration» in his health because he is suffering from a «severe neurological disease».
«Unfortunately, my health has deteriorated significantly over the past year. I can no longer provide the performance that is rightly demanded of a general music director,» Barenboim said in a letter to State Senator for Culture Klaus Lederer.
«I therefore ask you to understand that I will be leaving this job on January 31, 2023,» he has let it be known.
In a statement in response, Lederer has expressed his conviction that Barenboim has made «the right decision»; one that puts «the well-being of the State Opera first and therefore deserves the greatest respect.»
The Argentinian pianist had been the titular music director of the Berlin Staatsoper since 1992, and his contract was recently extended until 2027.
Although he had already reported his illness in October, Barenboim made a last-ditch effort to conduct Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on New Year’s Day, sitting in a chair from which he only rose to receive the audience’s final ovation.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
