Daniel Barenboim has been honored with the ECHO Klassik Lifetime Achievement Award, bestowed by the German Recording Academy, the cultural body of the Federal Music Industry Association.
"Daniel Barenboim is without a doubt one of the most important classical artists of our time," said Association president Dr. Florian. "In addition to his outstanding musical career, he has made it his life mission to break down borders through music – regardless of the obstacles he has been facing. With the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, he is contributing to reconciliation and understanding. Therefore, we are pleased more than ever to honor Daniel Barenboim with the ECHO Klassik Award in the category of Lifetime Achievement."
Barenboim says in this month’s ECHO Klassik magazine: "I will never claim that I am better or worse than my conductor colleagues, but I have the increasing feeling that I may be looking for something else than they are, that I actually have a different profession which only happens to use the same means as that of conducting.”
The 2012 ECHO Klassik Awards ceremony – co-hosted by tenor Rolando Villazón and German TV host Nina Eichinger – takes place October 14 and will be broadcast by ZDF at 22:00.
BARENBOIM BEGINS SEASON-LONG CELEBRATION OF WAGNER’S BICENTENNIAL WITH PERFORMANCES AT STAATSOPER BERLIN, TEATRO ALLA SCALA
Complete Beethoven for All Recordings Available from October 15