Saturday 22 August 2009

Proms

Last night I went to my first ever Prom Concert at the Albert Hall. My daughter arranged it all so after a picnic by the Albert Memorial we made our way across the road to the Albert Hall for the best concert I have ever heard - Barenboim conducting the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in Liszt (Les préludes) Wagner (Tristan and Isolde - Prelude and Liebestod) and Berlioz (Symphonie Fantastique).

The Symphonie Fantastique is one of my favourite pieces of music but what made is special is the orchestra. The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra is made up of young Israeli and Arab musicians playing together to produce a unified performance. Talking about the orchestra Barenboim says "I'm not trying to convert the Arab members of the Divan to the Israeli point of view or seeking to win over Israelis to the Arab one but I want to create a platform where the two sides can agree, and not resort to knives."

If last night's concert is anything to go by there is hope that good people on both sides can work together to resolve the situation between the Arabs and Israelis.

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