Daniel Barenboim (born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on November 15, 1942) is a pianist and conductor. He lives in Berlin and holds citizenship in Argentina, Israel, and Spain. He also holds a passport issued by the Palestinian Authority. His grandparents were Russian Ashkenazi Jews. Barenboim first came to prominence as a pianist but is now perhaps better known as a conductor. He is also known for his work with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, a Sevilla-based orchestra of young Arab and Jewish musicians that he co-founded with the late Palestinian-American scholar and activist Edward Said (whom Barenboim called his best friend).

Barenboim has been an outspoken critic of the Israeli settlements and of Israel's government since Rabin. He is also a supporter of Palestinian rights. In 2001, he sparked a controversy in Israel by conducting the music of Wagner in concert, as such a performance had not been staged in Israel since 1938 and was informally taboo.

In 1967 Daniel Barenboim married the renowned British cellist Jacqueline du Pré at the Western Wall, Jerusalem. The marriage lasted until her death from multiple sclerosis (MS) in 1987. His friendship with musicians Itzhak Perlman, Zubin Mehta, and Pinchas Zukerman, and marriage to du Pré led to the famous film by Christopher Nupen of their Schubert "Trout" Quintet. Collectively, the five referred to themselves as The Kosher Nostra.