The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra (WEDO) unites young musicians from Israel, various Arab countries and Spain. It was founded in 1999 by Daniel Barenboim and Palestinian literary scholar Edward Said, whose main idea was inspired by the vision of a peaceful coexistence of cultures in the Middle East. Not by chance was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s famous poetry collection West-östlicher Divan chosen to supply the ensemble’s name: “Those who know themselves and others / Will recognize here, too: / Orient and Occident / Can be separated no longer.” After initial working sessions held in Weimar and Chicago, WEDO found a permanent home in 2002 in Seville in southern Spain, generously supported by the Junta de Andalucía. There its members prepare through rehearsals, presentations, and discussions for the various programs which they then perform on their international concert tours. The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra has made numerous guest appearances, including at the Philharmonie in Berlin, Vienna’s Musik-verein, the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Salle Pleyel in Paris, New York’s Carnegie Hall, and the Tchai-kovsky Conservatory in Moscow, as well as in Istanbul and Buenos Aires. They are also regular guests at the BBC Proms and the Salzburg Festival. The musicians are working through the complete symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven in 2011. Following performances in Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, and the Middle East, as well as in various European cities, they will record the cycle on CD. Among WEDO’s catalogue of releases is a live recording of the legendary concert which took place in 2005 in Ramallah’s Cultural Palace. In 2006 the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra won an Emmy Award for their documentary film Knowledge Is the Beginning.
LUCERNE FESTIVAL debut on 21 August 2007, with Daniel Barenboim conducting Beethoven’s Third Leonore Overture, Schoenberg’s Variations for Orchestra (Op. 31), and Tchaikov-sky’s Sixth Symphony.
August 2011