West-Eastern Divan Orchestra

The orchestra's name refers to Goethe's collection of poems, The West-Eastern Divan, a central work in the development of the concept of world culture. The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra's first seasons took it to Weimar and Chicago.

The orchestra's core consists of an equal number of Israeli and Arab musicians, with additional members from Turkey, Iran, and Spain. They meet every summer for an academy where rehearsals are supplemented by lectures and forums, a prelude to an international concert tour.

The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra has proven time and again that music can break down barriers previously considered insurmountable. The sole political conviction underlying its work is that there is no military solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict and that the destinies of Israelis and Palestinians are inextricably linked.

Through its existence and work, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra demonstrates that bridges can be built to foster mutual listening. While music alone cannot end the Arab-Israeli conflict, it nevertheless gives everyone the right and duty to fully express themselves while listening to others.

Built on principles of equality, cooperation and justice for all, the orchestra represents an alternative model to the current situation in the Middle East.

The ensemble's repertoire ranges from symphonic works to opera and chamber music programs. It has been applauded in prestigious venues across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Regularly invited to major European festivals, it never forgets one of its major objectives: to perform in its members' home countries. Concerts given in Rabat, Doha, Abu Dhabi, and the emblematic concert in Ramallah in 2005 are milestones on this path.

The orchestra has performed for the United Nations on several occasions, including in December 2006 in honor of Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the United Nations headquarters in New York and in October 2015 at the United Nations Office in Geneva. In September 2007, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Daniel Barenboim a UN Messenger of Peace, and in February 2016, he designated the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra as the UN Global Advocate for Cultural Understanding. The ensemble has successfully released numerous CDs and DVDs. In 2015, the Barenboim-Said Akademie was founded in Berlin, which has offered a four-year program in music and humanities to students, the majority of whom come from the Middle East, since the fall of 2016.

The academy is housed in a former Staatsoper warehouse, which also houses the Pierre Boulez Saal, designed by Frank Gehry.

Little anecdote

Daniel Barenboim has written and lectured extensively on the subject of education through music rather than music education (see his 2006 "Norton Lectures" at Harvard, expanded upon in the book Everything is Connected: the Power of Music, 2008).

‍