Barenboim Signs Exclusively With Deutsche Grammophon

A stream of brilliant recordings are in the pipeline as Daniel Barenboim, one of the world’s greatest classical artists and a staunch champion of music’s civilising power, signs a new and exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. Barenboim will work with the Staatskapelle Berlin, the Staatsoper unter den Linden, the Boulez Ensemble and members of the Barenboim-Said Akademie. Many of his recordings will be made in Berlin’s Boulez Saal, home to the Barenboim-Said Akademie, a centre for the cultivation of communication, listening and understanding.

Deutsche Grammophon intends to develop three distinct recording series: Barenboim, the Pianist and Conductor, Barenboim the Chamber Music Player and Barenboim, the Educator and Innovator. The latter will take the form of digital-only releases on Daniel Barenboim’s own label, Peral Music, and will be complemented by social media campaigns, a strong YouTube presence and programmes for children’s television. Maestro Barenboim’s YouTube channel has attracted around 40,000 subscribers since its launch in 2016, while his video postings have been viewed almost one million times. He will also reach young television viewers as a character in Max & Maestro, a 52-part cartoon series co-produced by RAI, France Television and ARD-HR, in which he introduces 11-year-old rapper Max to classical music.

Watch out for two physical albums set for release this summer, marking the start of the “Summertime with Barenboim” campaign. Maestro Barenboim’s mature reflections on the four symphonies of Brahms, recorded with the Staatskapelle Berlin, and his recording of Mozart’s two piano quartets with Michael Barenboim, Kian Soltani and Yulia Deyneka, will be issued in July. Future albums will feature both established DG stars and newer members of the yellow label family. Projects include, for example, Dvořák’s Cello Concerto with Kian Soltani and the Staatskapelle Berlin, and Smetana’s Má Vlast with the Wiener Philharmoniker. There are also plans to mark Beethoven’s 250th anniversary in 2020 with major releases featuring such leading artists as Anne-Sophie Mutter and Yo-Yo Ma. Maestro Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin will perform Brahms’s symphonies during their tour to China and Australia this November.