Classical

Daniel Barenboim has had one of the most extraordinary musical careers of our time. This child of the world—born in Argentina, a teenager growing up in Israel, a student of the German musical tradition, a huge career in America—is among the handful of true celebrity performers in classical music. That star status automatically makes his artistry suspect for many devoted music lovers, and it is true that his conducting and piano playing have tended toward the superficial and self-absorbed over the years. His last appearance here, at the helm of the mighty Chicago Symphony Orchestra, displayed no such tendencies, but only grand, opulent and deeply expressive music making.

Barenboim's latest visit to the big house at Broad and Spruce streets is with his other band, the Berlin Staatskapelle Orchestra, a venerable Old World ensemble renowned for its warm, lustrous tone. He will present a program that is immune to showiness, all Mozart. This is a composer whom Barenboim, both as pianist and conductor, has always served well, with performances of elegance and even wisdom. He will be in both roles for this concert, leading the ensemble in two great symphonies, Nos. 39 and 41, and conducting from the piano in the magically elegiac Piano Concerto No. 23.

Wed., Feb. 8, 8 p.m., $40-$114, Verizon Hall, 300 S. Broad St., 215-893-1999, www.kimmelcenter.org.