"Beethoven was an Olympian, too!"

While touring with the WEDO quite often seems to follow the motto "Faster, Further, Higher", this felt especially apt in London this year, even before the opening ceremony of the Olympics on Friday night. In a highly anticipated orchestra residency at the BBC Proms, the WEDO under Maestro Barenboim had the unique chance to play the full Beethoven Symphony Cycle, interspersed with compositions by Pierre Boulez, to the reliably enthusiastic audience and highly appreciative critics in London's Royal Albert Hall. The sporting metaphors came quite naturally in the face of such an endurance effort. As Daniel Barenboim put it in a press conference last Thursday, "A very important cycle of the complete symphonies of Beethoven, and one or two works sometimes by Pierre Boulez in the same programs, presented just before the Olympics, is a sort of statement of the importance of music in our society." And in a bow to the mission of the WEDO, he added: "The feeling that Beethoven has given to me is that his music fights against this human weakness of trying to believe that what is good we wish we could keep it forever and what is bad will never go away. Beethoven's music gives me the strength to think beyond that." The Cycle concluded with - what else - a gloriously stirring performance of Beethoven's 9th. The applause ended up being a marathon in itself, giving Barenboim easily enough time to make his way across the entire stage and shake every musician's hand individually. Following the ovations, Daniel Barenboim addressed the audience regarding the situation in Israel and Palestine. He also referred to our concert in East Jerusalem planned for July 31 that sadly had to be cancelled following pressure from some Palestinian groups. In spite of all differences, and contrary to the conviction of many parties on both sides of the conflict, dialogue is possible on the basis of justice and respect. That is not "normalization"; it is a condition for any meaningful conversation. This is the message Beethoven emphasized in the 9th. And it is the message proven every single day by the existence of the WEDO. Now, some people might want to call it a day after an event like that. But Barenboim still had another appointment, kept completely secret until Friday night: He was whisked away from the Royal Albert Hall to the Olympic Stadium to be one of the eight bearers of the Olympic Flag in the Opening Ceremony, alongside friend of the WEDO and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and sporting legends Muhammad Ali and Haile Gebrselassie. It was a poignant moment when the official BBC commentary introduced him to the one billion viewers following the event worldwide as "Daniel Barenboim who brings harmony in the place of discord." There is very little to add to that.

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