2009 BBC Prom 50: Daniel Barenboim conducts the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra,
BBC Singers and Geoffrey Mitchell Choir. 
最开始喜欢把人上不知为什么，
Daniel Barenboim interviewed by BBC 08/2010
BBC 080210 - Daniel Barenboim (born November 15, 1942) is a pianist and conductor. He lives in Berlin and holds citizenship in Argentina, Israel, Spain and Palestine. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina; his parents were Russian Ashkenazi Jews. Barenboim first came to fame as a pianist but now is as well-known as a conductor, and for his work with an orchestra of young Arab and Jewish musicians, based in Seville, Spain, called the 'West-Eastern Divan Orchestra', which he co-founded with the late Palestinian-American intellectual and activist Edward Said, whom Barenboim has called his best friend. Barenboim, supporter of Palestinian rights, has been an outspoken critic of the Israeli settlements and of Israel's government since Rabin.
The West-Eastern Divan is a youth orchestra based in Sevilla, Spain, consisting of musicians from countries in the Middle East, of Egyptian, Iranian, Israeli, Jordanian, Lebanese, Palestinian, and Syrian background. The Argentine-Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim and the late Palestinian-American academic Edward Said founded the orchestra in 1999, and named the ensemble after an anthology of poems by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The first orchestra workshop was in Weimar, Germany in 1999, [ 1 ] after the organisation had received over 200 applications from Arab music students. [ 2 ] Daniel Barenboim has also expressed interest in musicians from Iran (a non-Arab country but in conflict with Israel) and three Iranian musicians are to play in the Orchestra each year.
The aim of the West-Eastern Divan is to promote understanding between Israelis and Palestinians and pave the way for a peaceful and fair solution of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Barenboim himself has spoken of the ensemble as follows:
"The Divan is not a love story, and it is not a peace story. It has very flatteringly been described as a project for peace. It isn't. It's not going to bring peace, whether you play well or not so well. The Divan was conceived as a project against ignorance. A project against the fact that it is absolutely essential for people to get to know the other, to understand what the other thinks and feels, without necessarily agreeing with it. I'm not trying to convert the Arab members of the Divan to the Israeli point of view, and [I'm] not trying to convince the Israelis to the Arab point of view. But I want to - and unfortunately I am alone in this now that Edward died a few years ago - ...create a platform where the two sides can disagree and not resort to knives." [ 3 ]
One of the young musicians of the orchestra reinforced this point:
"Barenboim is always saying his project is not political. But one of the really great things is that this is a political statement by both sides. It is more important not for people like myself, but for people to see that it is possible to sit down with Arab people and play. The orchestra is a human laboratory that can express to the whole world how to cope with the other." [ 4 ]
The orchestra has performed around the world, including Israel and the Palestinian territories. It has an annual summer school in Seville. Since 2002, Junta de Andalucía (Regional Government of Andalusia) and a private foundation have provided a base for the ensemble in Seville, Spain. Young musicians from Spain now also take part in the orchestra.
The West-Eastern Divan Workshop takes place during several weeks each summer in Andalusia. Once the working period is over, the concert tour of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra starts. The orchestra has been awarded several prizes since its creation, among them the Prize Príncipe de Asturias of the Concorde in 2002 for Said and Barenboim, and the Premium Imperiale awarded by the Japan Arts Association.
In 2004, the Barenboim-Said Foundation, based in Seville and financed by the Junta de Andalucía (Regional Government of Andalusia), was established with the purpose of developing several education through music projects based on the principles of coexistence and dialogue promoted by Said and Barenboim. In addition to managing the orchestra, the Barenboim-Said Foundation assists with other projects such as the Academy of Orchestral Studies, the Musical Education in Palestine project and the Early Childhood Musical Education Project in Seville.
In 2007, the Orchestra received the Praemium Imperiale Grant for Young Artists. A film by Paul Smaczny about the Orchestra, Knowledge is the Beginning, won the Emmy Award for best documentary related to arts of 2006. The orchestra has recorded for the Teldec label
(wiki)
以色列裔指揮暨鋼琴家巴倫波音（ Daniel Barenboim ）跟以色列裔美國哥倫比亞大學教授薩依德（ Edward Said ）兩人共同創辦「 東西會議廳管絃樂團」（ West-Eastern Divan ）
這個樂團特殊之處，是團員來自於中東各地，包括埃及、伊朗、以色列、約旦、黎巴嫩、巴勒斯坦以及敘利亞等地，甚至還有西班牙。他們的目的是希望讓恐怖組織猖獗，戰火頻仍，國與國人民之間交流受限的地區，能夠透過音樂，做一個國際性的交流。不僅是團員本身能夠跨界思考彼此間政治藩籬的議題，也能夠讓國際重視和平的重要性。這個過程充滿了衝突與和諧，值得所有人關注。可惜的是，核心人物薩依德教授在樂團成立未滿五年就過世了（ 1999-2003 ），而巴倫波音則持續著薩依德教授的初衷，帶領樂團繼續前進。整個樂團的顛峰，在巴倫波音把樂團帶入了巴勒斯坦的 Ramallah 城市，一個被以色列用圍牆封住，視以色列人為仇人的地區，舉辦一場音樂會。樂團裡的以色列人因為安全因素，必須跟所有的團員分開前往開地，而且必須要當天來回。一路上還有武裝警察護衛。巴倫波音在演奏後，說了一段話。他表示這個樂團無力為中東帶來和平，也無意強調任何政治的立場。他們只希望能夠表達：無知架起藩籬，關心才能走向和平。無論是否能夠達成共識，至少他們架起了一個橋樑，讓不同背景的人們能夠避免用武力來進行友善的溝通。
巴倫波音在祖國以色列獲頒（ Wolf Foundation ）的音樂獎頒獎典禮上，公開抨擊自己的國家以色列有關他們佔領巴勒斯坦土地的行為，也就公開指責自己的家人。這是非常需要勇氣的行為，令人敬佩
http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/veryexy/article?mid=1065&prev=-1&next=1064
作为一个音乐家，巴伦博伊姆打开了一个讨论的空间，让哲学与音乐有了对话的可能。
巴伦博伊姆如今已是古典音乐指挥界炙手可热的人物， 2009 年，他甚至担纲指挥了维也纳新年音乐会，而他创立的东西方第凡乐团 (West-Eastern Divan Orchestra) 也已经成为犹太人与阿拉伯年轻音乐家消弭积怨，增进理解的桥梁所在，尽管 2009 年初，他们的音乐会因为以色列入侵加沙而取消，但是巴伦博伊姆在“以音乐消除仇恨”方面所作的努力，已得到大众的认可，他在专业与公众知名度方面，已经达到其人生的一个高峰。
不过于我而言，相较其指挥与钢琴演奏，更让我感兴趣的是他对音乐的一些哲学思考。他这种深思的特质，或许是有赖于其犹太人的身份，使得他对一些基本的存在问题从小就有耳濡目染的感受；又或许是因为他从小跨越南美、欧洲与中东的复杂经历，一直刺激着他去思考音乐与他的人生经历之间的关联。不管是何种原因，巴伦博伊姆对于音乐的一些看法，已不再局限于技术或直觉的层面上，而是进入到哲学性反思的境地。
因而在这本由其口述的《生活在音乐中》里，你一方面可以跟随他，了解他作为音乐家的成长过程，当中有获得福特文格勒的青睐提携，有与祖宾梅塔之间的友谊，还有与前妻杜普蕾的婚姻经历。
无论在何时，才华横溢的音乐家都不鲜见，但是却很少有人能清晰地描述出，音乐这种艺术形式对人的存在到底具备何等的意义，它为人类的心灵到底开启了怎样的一扇窗。相反有趣的是，许多哲学家却不遗余力地论述音乐的哲学意义，比如谢林，比如尼采。
或许有人会怀疑，这些哲学家们解说音乐的方式，是否会陷入无休止的玄谈。不过巴伦博伊姆却坦承，斯宾诺莎和亚里士多德的思想使他有可能对音乐有更深的理解。
我很吃惊的是，巴伦博伊姆将音乐看作是一个始于空，终于空的过程。他甚至认为这种空乃是一种沉默，因此音乐的本真意义并不仅仅限于它所演奏的这个过程，而是与演奏前和演奏后的“无声”存在非常奇妙的关联。对于这种看法，巴伦博伊姆并没有交代其思想来源，不过就我来看，这种对于时间的看法，有非常强烈的犹太宗教哲学的色彩，即把有与无当作是一对互为依存的关系来看待，即音乐的发生和意义是与 “ 无声 ” 作为一对二元关系紧密相联，正是在沉默中，我们才能发现音乐的一些深层本质。
巴伦博伊姆从亚里士多德的《灵魂》一书中引申出我们对“声音”的理解过程，我们首先是依靠感官知觉，然后是依靠想象力和记忆，最终是理智，而在演奏中，我们实际上是先通过理性去理解作品，然后再逐渐恢复早先的感官经验。这种对亚里士多德学说的移用十分粗糙，因为音乐对人的吸引力，或许是一种综合性的把握，而不是亚里士多德意义上的阶段认识论。
我们无需将巴伦博伊姆的看法奉为圭臬，但是作为一个音乐家，他却打开了一个讨论的空间，让哲学与音乐有了对话的可能。在我阅读所及，除开那位对胡塞尔的现象学迷恋的切里比达克，少有音乐人物会以哲学来观照音乐的本质，因此，巴伦博伊姆的这种思考的方向，方显弥足可贵。
不过我们切莫单纯地认为，巴伦博伊姆只是以哲学的理论与概念去附会音乐的表达，细心的读者会注意到，巴伦博伊姆的关怀在于，他应该如何理解音乐作为一种生活方式的意义所在，它给我们的生活到底提供了怎样的可能性。只有在这个根本的关切背景下，我们才能了解巴伦博伊姆以哲学探讨音乐的冲动何在，或许才会真正地理解他念兹在兹的一句话：音乐是逃避人类生存困境的最好手段。
