Barenboim conducts West-Eastern Divan in January concerts

Daniel Barenboim will lead the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in concerts this month at Seville’s Teatro de la Maestranza (19 January) and Cádiz’s Gran Teatro Falla (21 January). Daniel Barenboim founded the West-Eastern Divan in 1999 with his friend, the late Palestinian author and scholar Edward Said. Originally created at the invitation of the Kunstfest Weimar and now based in Seville, Spain, the orchestra assembles, on average, twice annually for workshops and tours. The orchestra brings together individuals to perform music and promote mutual understanding, non-violence and reconciliation.

Barenboim first leads the West-Eastern Divan on 19 January, for a performance of the Second Act of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde at the Teatro de la Maestranza. Two days later in Cádiz, Barenboim conducts the Orchestra in Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra at the city’s Gran Teatro Falla. The 21 January concert commemorates the ensemble’s co-founder Edward Said, who passed away ten years ago.