(Milan) The legendary pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim deplored on Wednesday the lack of interest accorded, according to him by the political world to the culture which “has remained behind”, in a society where the search for technological progress prevails .
“We live in an era of great technological progress, of artificial intelligence, all of that is very positive, but the culture has lagged behind and politicians do not realize it”, he said. declared during a press conference at La Scala in Milan.
On Wednesday evening, the 78-year-old maestro was planning to celebrate his return to La Scala, of which he was musical director from 2005 to 2014, but the concert was canceled at the last minute due to a case of suspected Covid-19 within the Staatskapelle of Berlin, which he has directed for thirty years.
While Daniel Barenboim and the Berlin Orchestra were to perform the complete Johannes Brahms symphonies on Wednesday and Thursday, the pianist will finally perform as a soloist on Thursday evening to play Beethoven’s last three sonatas.
“We are talking about the Zeitgeist, the spirit of the times, but we live in a period where the spirit is lacking and it is very dangerous,” he argued to the press.
“When we talk about culture, we are talking about how many euros this or that government gives to a symphony orchestra or a project,” he continued. “People are not interested in culture, they think it is reserved for an elite, they never understood its importance”.
The Israeli-Argentinian maestro said he was “convinced that there is a lack of musical education in the world” and proposed to start, after the coronavirus pandemic, “a reflection on the future of music and of culture in general ”. Music is “essential for human balance,” he insisted.
He said he was “very moved” by his return to La Scala, of which he “kept only happy memories”.
“I always said that I come from the only country in Italy where one does not speak Italian, Argentina, because it is the Italians who built Argentina. I felt like at home here, ”he said.
Asked about the death Monday at the age of 77 of Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire, one of the most recognized in the world, he regretted the disappearance of “a very exceptional human being”. “He was a great pianist,” he noted.