Daniel Barenboim and Michael Naumann recently paired to edit The Sound of Utopia, a new book describing the founding and development of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and Barenboim-Said Akademie.
In 1999, Daniel Barenboim and literary theorist Edward W. Said founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. Since its founding, the ensemble has brought together numerous young musicians from Israel and the Arab world to make music together at the highest level. In 2016, the Barenboim-Said Akademie was established in Berlin to develop “thinking musicians,” providing scholarships for young music students from the Middle East to study in Berlin.
The book, The Sound of Utopia, is based on an exhibition of the same name in the foyer of the Barenboim-Said Akademie. Both the book and the exhibit detail the journey from the first workshops of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra to the founding of the Barenboim-Said Akademie.
A return to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Interview: Returning to Chicago