Barenboim, Daniel (1942– )

Argentinian-born Israeli pianist and conductor. Pianist and conductor with the English Chamber Orchestra from 1964, he became conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in 1970, musical director of the Orchestre de Paris in 1975, director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1991, musical director of the Berlin State Opera in 1992, and principal guest conductor of La Scala Opera House in Milan, Italy, in 2006.

As a pianist Barenboim specialized in the German classic and romantic repertoire; as a conductor he extended into 19th- and 20th-century French music, including the work of French composer Pierre Boulez. He was married to the English cellist Jacqueline Du Pré until her death in 1987.

He was born in Buenos Aires to parents of Jewish Russian descent, and started piano lessons at the age of five, taught first by his mother and then father. The family emigrated to Israel in 1952, and Barenboim began touring in Europe as a pianist before reaching adolescence. In 1954 his parents took him to Salzburg to study conducting with Igor Markevitch. The following year he studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris.