Berlin - Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim is to perform in Egypt for the first time next week, the foundation he jointly heads said on Friday. Barenboim will conduct the Cairo Symphony Orchestra at a concert in the Egyptian capital's Opera House on April 16, the foundation said.

Supported by Austria and Spain, the concert is part of the conductor's efforts to promote dialogue in the Middle East. On the programme are piano solos and Beethoven's
5th Symphony.

London, Jan 7 : Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim has cancelled two concerts in the Middle East because of safety concerns.

Berlin - Argentinean-Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim has lashed out at Israel for failing to try to understand Palestinian life.

Speaking ahead of a performance in Berlin Saturday of the Israeli-Arab youth orchestra he co-founded in 1999, Barenboim told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that Israel was "ignorant" of Palestinian life and that "it lacked curiosity" about the Palestinian people.

"A large number of Israelis have no idea what Palestinian society is," said Barenboim, who is the musical director of Berlin's showcase opera house, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden.