Yes, you read right. At 9pm tomorrow evening, 8 April, the great Daniel Barenboim is indeed giving a surprise concert and talk in the rather astonishing setting of the Tate Modern, with members of his Berlin Staatskapelle, and admission is FREE. Everybody is invited to attend and see the event from the Turbine Hall Bridge or video relay in the Turbine Hall.Why? It's an anniversary party with a difference: the "pianist, conductor and communicator" is marking the 60th anniversary of his performing debut and apparently also the release of his new recordings of the Chopin Piano Concertos, a solo Chopin recital from Warsaw, Tchaikovsky and Schoenberg with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and, later this year, the Liszt concertos - in a new affiliation with Decca and Deutsche Grammophon.
We don't get to hear Barenboim for free every day, so if you're in London then head down there PDQ. (But remember to register for tickets first... link is below & allocation will be done tonight and tomorrow.)
Please note his words below, especially if you have been enjoying the SHOUT OUT! MUSIC EDUCATION FOR ALL series here on JDCMB this week. Barenboim's statement is a very welcome surprise addition. Every day this week I have been running strong statements from some of Britain's leading musicians about the vital nature of making musical education available to all children, regardless of their family's ability to pay. Contributors include Tasmin Little, Julian Lloyd Webber, James Rhodes and many more. Catch up here, here, here and here.
Barenboim says: ‘Engaging with music and the arts is one of the most important things we have in life. Performing a piece of music and listening to it with an open mind can tell us many things about the world and ourselves. If people can reach mutual understanding and even harmony over a work of art in this world of conflict and despair, this gives me hope and encouragement that we reach with the arts where we can’t get with words alone.’
All tickets to his performance at Tate Modern are free, with limited capacity. Please register here for tickets: http://decca.com/barenboim/index.html
PS - You read it here first. xj
