It was the concert many suspected we would never hear. Yet, on Sunday, nearly two years after he stepped back from performance following the diagnosis of his “serious neurological condition”, Daniel Barenboim was back. Back in the London to which he has given so much, back at the Proms which loves him, and – every bit as powerful in its defiance of calamity – back with his West-Eastern Divan Orchestra of musicians from Israel, Palestine and other Arab and Muslim countries.
In such circumstances, Barenboim’s determination to return felt heroic. The Royal Albert Hall was packed to acclaim him. But the strength of will, always a feature, comes at a visible cost now. Barenboim is far frailer, moves slowly on and off the platform, ascends the podium carefully, sits to conduct, and directs with only minimal gestures.
