By This is a review of Daniel Barenboim’s Everything is Connected: The Power of Music. Weidenfield & Nicolson. 2008.
A great number of tremendously gifted Jewish musicians occupy the highest places in the world of classical music. Lorin Maazel, Leronard Bernstein, James Levine and Daniel Barenboim are familiar names for any classical music fan.
Barenboim, however, stands out from the rest.
The former director of the Chicago Symphony and now the director of La Scala in Milan, Italy, Barenboim routinely condemns the excesses of the Israeli occupation and is interested in nurturing musical talents amongst Arabs as well as Jews.
The book is a series of essays published throughout the years. Berenbaum’s ruminations on the art of music are presented organically alongside his views on the sixty years of conflict between Israel and Arab World, as well as inside stories on such events as a groundbreaking visit to Ramallah to perform the last concert of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in 2005.
The book is an attempt to illustrate how vision in art and vision in life are essentially the same thing.
Barenboim speaks of how the historic visit of West-Eastern Divan Orchestra to Ramallah in 2005 was only confirmed a few days before the concert actually took place. It was the result of overcoming much anxiety, fear, and opposition both from members and their parents.
In one memorable instance, Barenboim had to face parents who accused him of sending their children to a dangerous area. He assured them that he also brought along his son, taking more than just a creative risk.
Barenboim talks about the uncomfortable issues surrounding modern anti-Semitism and how it must be addressed, claiming that “a Jew who has anti-Semitic experiences in Berlin in 2008 is different from the Jew who had anti-Semitic experiences in 1940. The Jew of 1940 felt threatened; the Jew of today can think of his own land.” It’s a forceful take on a problem that has both remained and changed in today’s world.
Barenboim also attacks right-wing Israelis, stating that the survival of Israel will depend on both action and goodwill gestures, not on forcing Palestinians to admit defeat and to willingly leave their land.
The author is a creative peacemaker who is openly hated by certain segments of society. But his vision, held together by an overwhelming love and tremendous talent for music, may just endure.
Tags: books, jonathan mok, music
