Conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim has won the prestigious Ernst von Siemens Prize. The Argentinian-Israeli musician says that he will donate 100,000 euros of the 150,000-euro prize money to helping renovate Berlin's Staatsoper Unter den Linden opera house, of which he is Artistic Director, whilst the remaining 50,000 euros will go to his own new foundation for talented young musicians.
Barenboim, who is also Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, was described by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation as "a universal musician, who has given us outstanding interpretations of the entire classical and romantic repertoire and who is also firmly committed to the cause of contemporary music." He'll receive the prize at a special ceremony in Vienna on 12 May.