Daniel Barenboim and Edward Said founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in 1999 as an alternative way to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That’s a tall order for two famous musicians, but the orchestra has thrived and now spun off the Ensemble, featuring eight of their string players. Michael Barenboim, concertmaster of the Orchestra, is founder of the Ensemble. This concert was their Chicago debut, and the world premiere of one of the works, Jawb commissioned from Benjamin Attahir by the Ensemble.
Harris Theater Hosts a Joyous Collaboration
The concert had something for every string music-lover. The first Sextet No. 1 in B-flat Major for two violins, two violas, and two cellos, OP. 18 piece, by Johannes Brahms and the final piece, Octet in E-flat Major for strings, OP. 20 by Felix Mendelssohn were lush expositions from the classical world of chamber music.In these pieces, the musical conversation was among six and then eight musicians. The added depth from the excellent acoustics of the Harris Theater,brought each note, each chord to life. The players’ joyous collaboration, especially for the Mendelssohn Octet,roused the audience to give them a standing ovation at the end.
