West-Eastern Divan reunites for concerts in Spain this January

This month the musicians of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra reunite for concerts led by Daniel Barenboim in Seville (January 19) and Cádiz (January 21). Their first performance together this year takes place on January 19, when the Divan co-founder conducts the Orchestra in a performance of the Second Act of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde at the Teatro de la Maestranza. Two days later in Cádiz, Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan perform Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra at the city’s Gran Teatro Falla. The January 21 concert commemorates the ensemble’s co-founder, the late Palestinian author and scholar Edward Said, who passed away ten years ago. The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and Barenboim have recorded all of Beethoven’s symphonies as part of their Beethoven for All project, which seeks to bring the composer’s message of common humanity to audiences worldwide. Discover the Decca Classics recording here on Amazon and on iTunes. Founded by Daniel Barenboim and Edward W. Said in 1999, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra brings together musicians from Israel, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt – joined by a number of musicians from Iran, Turkey and Spain – to perform music and promote mutual understanding, non-violence and reconciliation. Originally created at the invitation of the Kunstfest Weimar and now based in Seville, Spain, the orchestra derives its name from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s collection of poems titled West-Eastern Divan, a central work in the evolution of the concept of world culture. Explore the story of the orchestra. Discover the Orchestra’s recordings and writings by its co-founders here. 

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