FILE – Daniel Barenboim, general music director of the Berlin State Opera and Staatskapelle Berlin, gestures during a news conference in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, June 4, 2019. Daniel Barenboim announced on Friday his resignation as general music director of the Berlin State Opera, a job he has held since practiced for over three decades and says his health has gotten too bad to continue. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, file)
BERLIN – Daniel Barenboim announced on Friday his resignation as general music director of the Berlin State Opera, a post he has held for over three decades, and said his health had become too poor to continue.
The renowned conductor and pianist, who turned 80 in November, has been in office since 1992. In October, he announced that after being diagnosed, he had “a serious neurological condition.”
In a statement from the Staatsoper, Barenboim said he would step down on January 31.
“Unfortunately, my health has deteriorated significantly over the past year,” he said. “I can no longer provide the performance that is rightly demanded of a general music director.”
Barenboim said his years at the opera house Unter den Linden in Berlin inspired us “musically and personally in every way”. And he was “happy and proud” that the Staatskapelle, based at the Staatsoper, had appointed him their chief conductor for life, he said.
“We have become and will continue to be a musical family over the years,” added Barenboim. He said he is still willing to conduct in the future.
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