Daniel Barenboim
For over five decades, Daniel Barenboim and Pierre Boulez shared a close friendship and an artistic partnership characterized by mutual respect and great admiration. The two first met in 1964; Boulez's tireless commitment to the 20th-century avant-garde sparked in Barenboim a lasting interest in the Second Viennese School and modern music. In 2007, Boulez became the only foreign conductor to be given the opportunity to lead the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which Barenboim had founded. In Boulez's memory, Barenboim later named a chamber music hall at his academy after him and released a 'Hommage à Boulez' on Deutsche Grammophon. This edition includes recordings of works made at the BBC Proms and at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden; some of these were conducted by Boulez himself.