MUSIC ANALYSIS

In 1999, Daniel Barenboim and Edward Said set up the West-Eastern Divan Project, enabling young Middle Eastern musicians to work together. Now, in a collection of essays and articles that is part manifesto, part memoir, and part discourse, Barenboim discusses the place of music both in the lives of individuals and as a global phenomenon. He transports music from notes and the orchestra pit to its repercussive effects and potential as an instrument in the peace process.

The book is, in parts, a little dense, but it’s worth sticking with Barenboim’s sometimes excursive style for the ingenuity and freshness of his approach, while the vision he pursues for peace in the Middle East is pragmatic, courageous and controversial, though sadly, unlikely to come to fruition in the current political climate. Nevertheless, for the insights Barenboim presents and his own personal tale, the book is very much worth reading.