Celebrated classical pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim will cancel a slew of performances after being diagnosed with a "serious neurological condition".

The Buenos Aires-born 79-year-old also pulled out of a string of concerts earlier this year over health issues.

On Tuesday, the Berlin-based Grammy winner announced via Twitter that other performances would soon be dropped.

He wrote: "My health has deteriorated over the last months,” and stressed that he must "now focus on my physical wellbeing".

Mr Barenboim said the decision was made with "a combination of pride and sadness.

"I have lived all my life in and through music, and I will continue to do so as long as my health allows me to,” he went on.

It is with a combination of pride and sadness that I announce today that I am taking a step back from some of my performing activities, especially conducting engagements, for the coming months. pic.twitter.com/1LlqaETNzG

— Daniel Barenboim (@DBarenboim) October 4, 2022

Born to Argentinian Jewish parents in 1942, Mr Barenboim moved to Israel aged 10.

He rose through the ranks as a young pianist and has conducted some of the world’s most prestigious orchestras.

In 1967 he married British cellist Jacqueline du Pré at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Following du Pré’s death, he remarried Russian pianist Elena Bashkirova.

Mr Barenboim is known for his criticism of conservative Israeli governments, and in 2008 he became the first person to hold both Israeli and Palestinian citizenship. 

In 1999 Mr Barenboim co-founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, a Seville-based orchestra of young Arab and Israeli musicians.