Daniel Barenboim will lead the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in its debut in United Arab Emirates on 23 January, 2014. The landmark performance sees Barenboim conducting the orchestra in Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony as well as Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante. Admission to the concert is complimentary but registration is required. Click here for details.
The Orchestra’s Abu Dhabi performance is part of Barenboim and the Divan’s January concerts together. They appear at Seville’s Teatro de la Maestranza on January 19 and at Cadíz’s Gran Teatro Falla on 21 January.
Daniel Barenboim co-founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in 1999 with his friend, the late Palestinian literary scholar Edward Said. The orchestra brings together musicians from Israel, Palestine, and other Arab countries with the aim to perform music and promote reflection and understanding. They meet each summer in Seville, Spain, for a workshop, where rehearsals are complemented by lectures and discussions and followed by an international concert tour. Since 2002, the workshop and orchestra has been based in Seville and is funded by the regional government of Andalusia (Junta de Andalucía). The Barenboim-Said Foundation was established in 2004 and hosts music education projects in various countries. The Foundation has initiated the development of the Barenboim-Said Academy in Berlin, which will develop the concept of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra into a groundbreaking educational program.
Barenboim conducts West-Eastern Divan in January concerts
Claudio Abbado