On August 19, 2018, Daniel Barenboim performs at a concert at the Waldbuehne Theater in Berlin, Germany
In 1827, Goethe's last collection of poems "The Collection of West and East" was written. It was inspired by the works of Hafez, the most influential poet in the Arab world. Imitating the imaginary Eastern poetic world of human childhood, Goethe constructed a world of ideals that "poetry, religion and philosophy merge into one" in "The Collection of West and East".
But in fact, the soil in which this "Eastern poetics world" grows in the Middle East is a battleground for military strategists. Since the founding of the state of Israel, it has attacked each other with Palestine and the entire Arab world. Peace and equality have become luxuries on this land.
Even so, in the cracks of the war, a utopia is still struggling to grow: In 1999, Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim and literary theorist Edward Said jointly formed a group of Israelis and Arabs. Composed of the Orchestra-West and East Collection Orchestra.
Never possible
Daniel Barenboim, an Israeli conductor born in Argentina, and Palestinian American scholar Edward Said forged a deep friendship in 1993. There is no doubt that they all live outside the Middle East. At that time, Barenboim's command and career bases were Chicago and Berlin, while Said taught at Columbia University in New York. Since 1967, Barenboim has bluntly criticized the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, and now he dislikes Netanyahu even more. Both Said and Barenboim believe that violence is futile and that music can move the human spirit.
Barenboim and Said have always insisted that their project is not a political one.
In February 1999, Barenboim successfully held a historic piano recital in the West Bank. This convinced him that music is the best way to resolve this land dispute. Six months later, Barenboim and Said invited 78 Israeli and Arab musicians between the ages of 18 and 25 to Weimar, Germany, to form a three-week music camp. There, Barenboim, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and other musicians will participate in rehearsals, master classes and individual lessons during the day, while Said will host political and music debates in the evening.
Daniel Barenboim
Edward Said
At the end of this music camp, Israelis, Palestinians, Syrians, Lebanese and Egyptians had learned to play and live together. They decided that they would get together for one or two months each year to rehearse and tour together.
The West-East Collection Orchestra was born.
Political erosion
But it is not easy to dissolve the barriers caused by political stances.
Just one year after the orchestra was established, on September 28, 2000, Israeli Prime Minister Sharon forcibly visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the holy Islamic site on the Temple Mount in East Jerusalem, which reignited the prolonged violent conflict between Palestine and Israel. , Known as the second uprising in history (Aqsa mass uprising). The Palestinian resistance group launched a suicide bomb attack against the Israelis, and Israel subsequently launched military retaliation. After the dawn of peace subsided in the mid-1990s, the region fell into another cycle of violence.
Barenboim and Said have always insisted that their project is not a political project, but politics inevitably besieged their neutral music arena. In 2006, the existence of the orchestra was tested as never before. Just before the musicians performed and rehearsed in Seville, war broke out between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah. Due to political and security reasons, more than a dozen Lebanese and Syrian musicians decided to leave, and the orchestra cancelled a concert planned to be held next to the pyramids near Cairo. Some Arab musicians who have not returned to China have received a life-long ban on returning to China.
Pierre Boulez Concert Hall
Nevertheless, the reputation of the West-Eastern Orchestra began to rise in the multi-country tour in Spain, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Turkey.
"From the very beginning, it took a lot of courage to participate in this project, but this year it is even more so. A war is underway and some people's relatives and friends are being hurt by other people's relatives and friends," Barenboim said in Seville. Leah’s historic bullring held the first concert on the second day of the tour, said in an interview, “From this perspective, music is a response to the horrors of war.”
Even so, Barenboim also discovered that, In front of artillery, the power of music is still insignificant. After two weeks of rehearsal, the orchestra executives proposed to add the orchestra's political manifesto to the program book of the concert tour. In the final document, Barenboim reiterated the principle of the orchestra’s establishment: “There is no military solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the destinies of the Israeli and Palestinian people are inseparable.” The declaration also stated that the orchestra’s performance is “corresponding to the cruelty of the current war. It is in sharp contrast to barbarism."
This declaration caused an uproar in the orchestra at the time, and the hostility of some musicians was suddenly aroused. After intense debate, the declaration was adopted. Six Israelis and one Egyptian voted against it. Politics has clearly left its mark on this "beautiful little utopia".
As the understanding between the members of the orchestra gradually deepens, the potential gaps are gradually eliminated. The members of the orchestra gradually realized that even if they could not reach a consensus, they still need to respect each other and have meaningful exchanges. For those who are "defined as the enemy", this is already an extraordinary achievement. When Barenboim read aloud in his 2009 tour, "We desire complete freedom and equality between Israelis and Palestinians. It is on this basis that we gather today to play music", he passed on Yes, it is the common voice of 92 Israeli and Arab musicians.
"The reality proved me wrong"
After more than a decade of "wandering" career, with the completion of the Barenboim Said College and Pierre Boulez Concert Hall designed by star architect Frank Gehry, the West-East Collection Orchestra Finally had its own base in Berlin, Germany.
Over the years since the orchestra was founded, hundreds of young musicians have "graduated" from the orchestra and started their musical careers in Europe. For example, clarinet player Shirley Brill, pianist Salim Ashka and orchestra principal Daniel Cohen have now grown into solo musicians.
The members of the orchestra recognize that even if they cannot reach a consensus, they still need to respect each other and have meaningful exchanges.
Barenboim has led this orchestra through many cities in the world. They even went to Ramallah, the temporary capital of Palestine, where they opened music training institutions. The locals heard Mozart's music for the first time and felt the touch of the music. Its significance is comparable to Lorraine Mazel's "Musical Ice Breaking Journey" led by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra into North Korea.
But for Barenboim, the journey is not over yet. In this "promised land" once known as "flowing milk and honey", the confrontation between Israelis and Arabs continues. When it comes to the future of the orchestra, the 79-year-old musician has worries in his eyes: “Maybe one day the Israelis and Arabs will oppose us. I am worried that something like that will happen.”
When the orchestra was formed, Barenboim Both Said and Said hope that one day, the West-East Collective Orchestra can hold performances in Tel Aviv and Ramallah. But today's situation in the Middle East is still tense. As long as there is a little spark, large-scale bloodshed cannot be avoided. Speaking of this, the superstar who has attracted much attention in the classical music industry sighed and said: "The reality has proved me wrong."
