Talks

Encounter through Music: the Barenboim-Said Experiment in Utopia

Friday June 24, 14:15, Alternative Stage GNO

Tabaré Perlas, General Manager of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and CEO of the Daniel Barenboim Foundation
Roni Mann, Director of Humanities, Philosophy and Political Theory at the Barenboim-Said Akademie,
The musicians of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Jussef Eisa, Samir Obaido and Katrin Spiegel , will be also participating in the discussion.

Creating a communal experience through music, getting to know and coexisting with the "other,” and establishing real intercultural dialogue are just a few of the things the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra has achieved, in addition to its distinctions and international recognition.

"It began as an experiment to listening to one another. It became a journey of finding equality through music. It is now a home for music, learning, and mutual respect," a voice can be heard narrating over a video the audience is watching on the Alternative Stage of the Greek National Opera. Τhe West-Eastern Divan Orchestra was established in Weimar in 1999 by the late Palestinian scholar Edward Said and renowned pianist and conductor Dr. Daniel Barenboim. The world-class ensemble, which brings together young musicians from Israel, Palestine, and other Middle Eastern countries, is based on the principle of education through music and, with this message, it introduced itself to attendees of this year's SNF Nostos Conference.

The vision, which became a tangible project, of engaging in a transcultural dialogue by making music with each other was shared with the audience by the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra’s General Manager Tabaré Perlas, Co-Director Mariam Said, and musicians Jussef Eisa, Katrin Spiegel, and Samir Obaido.

"Your identity is who you are. It's not your gender, it's not your country, it's the person you are," Perlas said. This has, in fact, become a lived experience for the Orchestra, whose members come from different countries and get together every summer for a month, during which they live, study, and rehearse together, before going on an international concert tour. "The basic idea is to get to know each other. Musicians need each other. Education is the key," Mariam Said noted, adding that "the world may change in the future because people have learned to think differently. Whether it happens or not, we have done something good for humanity."

When Perlas addressed the musicians and said that "many of you were criticized, or are still criticized, back home because 'you play with the enemy, you play with the conqueror,'" Israeli-born violinist Katrin Spiegel responded, "When you live in a situation like this, it’s easier to dehumanize the 'other.’ But the most important thing is never to lose your sense of humanity." Violinist Samir Obaido, a Palestinian born in Jordan who is essentially stateless as a direct consequence of the occupation in Palestine, seemed to agree. He recounted his experience of living with the orchestra and talked about the things he learned from participating in it: "I had essentially dehumanized the Israelis. But through this project, I realized they are people with faults and beautiful qualities as human beings.” Commenting on the fact that the orchestra toured during the war in Gaza and Lebanon, clarinetist Jussef Eifa replied that it is best "to play music as people" – a decision that can provide an outlet when tensions are running high and finding common ground seems elusive.

After the discussion, a five-member ensemble of musicians from the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra performed Mozart's Clarinet Quintet and, with an "immersive" magical forest projected on the screen, overwhelmingly beautiful music reverberated throughout the Greek National Opera hall, music that “always comes as one,” as it was described during the discussion, despite human differences.