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The West-Eastern Divan Ensemble, led by the orchestra’s concertmaster Michael Barenboim, draws upon players of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. 

Program information:

Ravel: Sonata for Violin and Violoncello

Dvorak: Terzetto in C Major for Two Violins and Viola, Op. 74,

Hindemith: Trauermusik for strings

***Break***

Enescu: Octet for strings in C major, Op. 7

Michael Barenboim’s 2011 performance of Schoenberg’s Violin Concerto with Pierre Boulez in the Cologne Philharmonie was the beginning of a remarkable career. Following this celebrated debut, he has since performed the Schoenberg concerto with the Vienna Philharmonic under Daniel Barenboim, the Chicago Symphony under Asher Fisch, the Israel Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta, and the Berlin Philharmonic under Vasily Petrenko. Michael regularly gives solo recitals in the world’s most prestigious concert halls, such as Wigmore Hall in London, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, the Sydney Opera House, and Teatro di San Carlo in Naples. He presented a program with works by Pierre Boulez in Carnegie Hall, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Ope´ra National de Paris, the Barbican Centre in London, the Dortmund Konzerthaus, and the Salzburg Festival. 

Michael has premiered numerous new works by composers such as Jo¨rg Widmann, Kareem Rouston, and many others. He is a professor for violin and chamber music at the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin, and has since 2020 been the academy’s Dean. In addition, he has founded the West-Eastern Divan Ensemble, a group derived from the world renowned Orchestra and spreading its message of dialogue and understanding in a more intimate setting. He has taken this ensemble on tours in the United States and Europe since ist creation in 2020. 

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Michael has performed with numerous orchestras. The 2022/2023 season has him touring South Korea with WKO, as well as performances all across Europe. Soloist and chamber music partners include Anne-Sophie Mutter, Pinchas Zukerman and Daniel Hope. 

Michael Barenboim’s first solo album featured compositions by Bach and Barto´k as well as Boulez’s Anthe`mes 1 & 2. In 2018 there followed a CD with works by Tartini, Berio, Paganini, and Sciarrino. For Deutsche Grammophon, Michael has recorded the Mozart piano quartets and trios as well as the complete Beethoven piano trios – together with Kian Soltani and Daniel Barenboim.

Michael Barenboim, violin

Mohamed Hiber, violin

David Strongin, violin

Samir Obaido, violin

Miriam Manasherov, viola

Sindy Mohamed, viola

Astrig Siranossian, violoncello

Assif Binness, violoncello

Founded in 1999, the origins of the orchestra lie in the conversations between its founders, Edward Said and Daniel Barenboim. Over the course of their great friendship, the Palestinian author/scholar and Israeli conductor/pianist discussed ideas on music, culture and humanity. In their exchanges, they realized the urgent need for an alternative way to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The opportunity to do this came when Barenboim and Said initiated the first workshop using their experience as a model. This evolved into the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra that global audiences know today. The group is comprised of Arab and Israeli musicians, defying fierce political divides in the Middle East and globally. Through its work and existence, they demonstrate that bridges can be built to encourage people to listen to the narrative of the other.  

The West-Eastern Divan Ensemble is the most recent imprint of this project  and brings the highly praised artistry of the large orchestra into an intimate chamber music format. Now when the orchestra celebrates its 20th anniversary, Michael Barenboim, who as a soloist has recently appeared with Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony, founds this ensemble to spread the ideas behind the West Eastern Divan Orchestra even further and to give the public an opportunity to experience the musicians' unique arististry and personality up close. 

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