West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in Berlin

West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in Berlin

In light of the conflicts in the Middle-East, this orchestra is almost a miracle: the highly acclaimed West-Eastern Divan Orchestra is made up of young musicians from countries that are at war. The orchestra with youngsters from Israel, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Spain was formed in Weimar in 1999. Since then there have been concerts in Berlin, Seville and Rabat among others, and in the summer of 2005 even in Ramallah – a hotspot in the Middle-Eastern conflict. A highlight of the tour of summer 2006 was the performance of Beethoven’s '9th Symphony', conducted by Daniel Barenboim and featuring star singers such as Angelika Denoke and Burkhardt Fritz as well as Waltraud Meier and René Pape. The proceeds from these benefit concerts go to the Fundación Barenboim-Said and their music education programmes in the Palestinian territories.