Daniel Barenboim

Daniel Barenboim (born November 15, 1942) is a pianist and conductor. He lives in Berlin and holds citizenship in Argentina, Israel, Spain and Palestine.[1] He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina; his parents were Russian Ashkenazi Jews. Barenboim first came to fame as a pianist but now is as well-known as a conductor, and for his work with an orchestra of young Arab and Jewish musicians, based in Seville, Spain, called the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which he co-founded with the late Palestinian-American intellectual and activist Edward Said, whom Barenboim has called his best friend. Barenboim has been an outspoken critic of the Israeli settlements and of Israel's government since Rabin, and supporter of Palestinian rights. In 2001, he sparked a controversy in Israel by conducting the music of Wagner in concert, as had not been done in Israel since 1938, and was informally taboo.