Israeli-Argentine conductor Daniel Barenboim called on classical musicians Thursday to take elitism out of their art and make it available to the masses, as he will be doing at the weekend with a free concert.

“It’s very important to do mass events once in a while, to show that classical music is not elitist,” Barenboim told reporters after receiving the Bicentennial Medal for outstanding contributions on the 200th anniversary of Argentina’s independence.

And I’m fine with doing something for free now and then. Sometimes.

I found a 2006 article about Maestro Barenboim:

Chicago Symphony music director Daniel Barenboim is not just one of the best-known conductors in the United States; he’s also the best paid. Barenboim took home nearly $2 million for his work in Chicago during the 2003-04, the most recent season for which information is available. That’s in addition to his fees for conducting elsewhere and performing as a pianist. His salary made Barenboim, who is stepping down from his Chicago post soon, the highest-paid conductor in the country, according to a study by the <> Wall Street Journal, which drew its figures from documents that non-profit music organizations filed with the Internal Revenue Service.

I don’t begrudge him his salary or net worth, mind you, but I’m always somewhat surprised when someone with extraordinary wealth calls on the regular folks to work for free.