Daniel Barenboim's life is a legend in the making. A pianoprodigy, he performed his first concert at age 7. He married anotherprodigy, cellist Jacqueline du Pre, whose career and tragic deathfrom multiple sclerosis was the subject of the film "Hilary andJackie." James Frain portrayed the dashingly handsome Barenboim.
He is an international star but we embrace him as our own.Argentinean born, he is an Israeli citizen who conducts orchestrasall over the world including, of course, Chicago, where he is musicaldirector of the Symphony Orchestra and Berlin, where he is artisticdirector of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden.
Controversy erupted in Israel last month when Barenboim conductedthe overture from Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde." Israel has observedan informal ban on Wagner, an anti-Semite and Hitler's favoritecomposer.
It was an arrogant move, but it was also courageous. Barenboim'sJewishness and his expertise in Wagner give him the credibility tointroduce the music to his fellow Israelis.
If Barenboim's decision to play Wagner was political, it was alsomoral. Art transcends the artist, thankfully, or we would foreverview Picasso's paintings, Jerome Robbins' shows and Hemmingway'sbooks in terms of the mortal flaws of the creators instead of thedivinity of the creations.
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