Live in Ramallah
The phrase ‘in concert’ refers not just to musicians performing a work, but any group of people acting together with a single aim. The definition is pertinent in the case of the West-Eastern Divan musicians, the youth orchestra formed in 1998 by the Argentine-born (and Jewish) conductor Daniel Barenboim and the late Palestinian historian Edward Said. Their aim in creating a first-class orchestra comprising Israeli and Palestinian youth was simple: to use music as the opportunity in which these historical enemies could play and listen to each other. Barenboim is too astute to say that this endeavour will result in peace, but it will, he says in a short speech at the end of Live in Ramallah, bring about the ‘understanding, patience and the curiosity to listen to the narrative of the other’.
The recording of this album in the West Bank town of Ramallah required statesperson-like powers. The only way that the musicians could enter the closed-off town was on diplomatic passports issued by the Spanish Government. In Israel, Barenboim was denounced as a self-hating Jew. But the orchestra played, and its programme is iconic: the emotional warmth of Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante; Beethoven’s Fifth, with its play between light and dark timbres; and finally, the dignity of Elgar’s Nimrod variation. The Divan Orchestra brings a finely tuned understanding to an evening that represents a historic occasion. Just one niggle: why not translate the sleevenotes into Arabic and Hebrew as well as the four main European languages? That way, even more Middle Easterners might listen and – who knows? – act in concert for peace.
- Product information
- by West-Eastern Divan Orchestra/Daniel Barenboim
- Publisher
- Warner Classics
- Product number
- 2564 62791 2 CD
- Star rating
- Product link
- www.barenboim-said.org
Join over 10,000 people just like you. Get e-mail updates about new content, issue alerts, contests, and more!
Voices from the margins:
Multimedia: video, podcasts, and more.
- Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
- The House of Hunger poetry slam held in Zimbabwe in 2006, and organised by the Pamberi Trust, showcased young artists performing inspirational work on issues from corporate power to child soldiers. The video features four of the poets.
Published by Pambazuka News.
- Iranian women speak out
- 3 March 2007, London. Women's rights activists marched through the English capital last week to celebrate International Women's Day with a protest against the misogyny of the Islamic regime in Iran and the threat of invasion by the US. Hear the voices of Iranian feminists Azar and Leila Parnian and the sounds of the demonstration as it passed through the heart of the city. Click here to learn more about the campaign.
Produced by Heidi Bachram.
- Raised Voices audio:
- Benny from West Papua on Corporate Power
- Vinayan from India on agriculture
New Internationalist (NI) workers' co-operative exists to report on issues of world poverty and inequality; to focus attention on the unjust relationship between the powerful and the powerless worldwide; to debate and campaign for the radical changes necessary to meet the basic needs of all; and to bring to life the people, the ideas and the action in the fight for global justice.
Except where otherwise noted, images on this site are copyright of the photographer/illustrator or representative agency.Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License.
