Musician’s putting their differences aside to perform in the West Eastern Divan Orchestra could manifest the idea of a future together amid Israel-Hamas crisis, says the orchestra founder’s widow.
The ensemble was established by late Palestinian academic Edward Said and Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim more than 20 years ago as an “alternative way to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”.
“(The orchestra) was started after Daniel and my late husband Edward discovered that they became very good friends and they broke barriers and they extended it to their people and Daniel made an orchestra out of them,” widow Mariam Said told BBC Newsnight.
‘You do something you are passionate about… with the enemy… and this combination unsettles people which may lead to alternative thinking’
Miriam Said from the West- Eastern Divan Orchestra describes the power of music to unite#Newsnight pic.twitter.com/n47pj0z0JE— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) November 1, 2023
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“The idea of the orchestra is you do something that you are passionate about, and you do it with the other whom is your enemy and this combination will unsettle people.
“This unsettling may lead to alternate ways of thinking and to be able to think of a future together because in the end, this conflict is going to be resolved.”
Mrs Said described the Israel-Hamas crisis as causing “a lot of pain and suffering” but the performers have “music in common”.
Meanwhile Mr Barenboim’s son Michael also spoke about the Israel-Hamas conflict: “I think these projects are extremely important, especially in a situation of crisis like this one.
“I think we see a lot of polarisation, a lot of division around and we are, I would say, almost the only ones that promote this idea of cooperation and mutual understanding that I think is very important.”
Mrs Said also said she is worried about the rate at which the West Eastern Divan Orchestra school in the West Bank is working with and producing young Palestinian musicians.
It comes as Israeli airstrikes hit apartment buildings in a Gaza refugee camp for the second day in a row, Palestinian officials said.
The West Eastern Divan Orchestra has performed all over the world, including almost a dozen appearance at the BBC Proms.
