Daniel Barenboim Cancels Evening Appearance After Fainting

The conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim returned to the concert stage in Spain on September 19, two days after illness forced him to withdraw from the opening performance of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra’s European tour in Dortmund.

Barenboim, 83, attended the orchestra’s morning rehearsal at the Konzerthaus Dortmund on September 17. Later that day, however, he experienced what the venue described as an episode of post-viral weakness and was unable to conduct the evening concert.

German conductor Karl-Heinz Steffens stepped in at short notice, and the performance went ahead as scheduled. Before the concert, Konzerthaus director Raphael von Hoensbroech sent Barenboim wishes for a speedy recovery and described him as both a mentor and a father figure to the orchestra’s musicians.

Two days later, Barenboim appeared at the Teatro Auditorio in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, near Madrid. The sold-out programme featured Schubert’s Symphony No. 8, the “Unfinished”; the Prelude and Liebestod from Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde; and Schumann’s Symphony No. 3, the “Rhenish.” It was the first concert of the tour conducted by Barenboim himself.

Reports from the performance indicated that his health remains fragile. He walked slowly onto the stage and conducted mainly from a seated position. His movements were restrained, with his baton almost motionless at times, while his left hand provided brief indications of dynamics and expression.

Despite these physical limitations, Barenboim’s experience and musical insight remained evident, particularly in the Wagner selection. Spanish magazine Scherzo regarded the Prelude and Liebestod as the strongest part of the evening, noting the shaping of its long phrases and the gradual accumulation of orchestral tension.

A review in El País praised the delicate textures and finely articulated quiet passages in Schubert. It also observed that, during louder and more complex sections, the orchestra sometimes had to take greater responsibility for maintaining momentum and structural unity.

The audience rose to applaud Barenboim at the end of the concert. The ovation recognized both the performance and his determination to return to the podium so soon after withdrawing in Dortmund.

Barenboim disclosed in 2022 that he had a serious neurological condition and subsequently reduced his professional commitments. He stepped down from his position at the Berlin State Opera in 2023 and publicly confirmed in February 2025 that he had Parkinson’s disease. He said at the time that he intended to continue working whenever his health permitted.

He has described the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra as his most important responsibility. Founded by Barenboim and the Palestinian-American scholar Edward Said in 1999, the ensemble brings together musicians from Israel, Palestine and other parts of the Arab world to encourage dialogue and mutual understanding through music.

The orchestra’s European tour is scheduled to continue in Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna, Hamburg and Rolle, Switzerland. Barenboim’s participation in the remaining concerts will depend on his health.

His appearance at El Escorial nevertheless demonstrated how deeply his musical vision has shaped the orchestra. Even when his gestures were minimal, the musicians appeared capable of sustaining the artistic language they have developed with him over more than two decades.

Editorial note: Some reports described the Dortmund incident as a fainting episode and claimed that the concert was cancelled. The venue referred instead to post-viral weakness, and the performance proceeded under Karl-Heinz Steffens.