Barenboim–Said Academy

Barenboim-Said Akademie
Type Public–private
Established 2012
President Michael Naumann
Location Berlin, Germany
Website barenboimsaid.de

The Barenboim–Said Academy (German: Barenboim-Said Akademie, Arabic: أكاديمية بارنبويم-سعيد‎‎, Hebrew: אקדמיה בארנבוים-סעיד‎) is an academy located in Berlin, Germany, that offers an integrated curriculum in music and the humanities; it opened on December 8, 2016.[1] Inspired by its eponymous co-founders, the conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim and the literary theorist and intellectual Edward Said, the academy was financed to a capacity of 90 young musicians, with an admissions focus on the Middle East and North Africa, in the spirit of the West–Eastern Divan Orchestra. Through their joint education and music-making, students will be given the cognitive competence and critical understanding to become exemplary artists and contribute to the future of civil societies in their countries of origin.[2][3][4]

History and aims

The façade of the Barenboim–Said Academy on Französische Straße

After a chance meeting between Daniel Barenboim and Edward Said in a London hotel lobby in 1992, an intellectual exchange about music, literature, society and the Middle Eastern conflict as well as a deep personal friendship ensued until Edward Said's untimely death in 2003. The spirit of this extraordinary relationship was captured in their joint publication Parallels and Paradoxes. This exchange gave rise to the idea of creating an orchestra in which musicians from Israel, Palestine, the Middle East and North Africa would play music together – harmonize in music – and thus create a foundation for discussion with the possibility of mutual understanding. Barenboim 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 of 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 [violence]."[5]

The orchestra was co-founded in Weimar, Germany, by Said and Barenboim in 1999, and named after the West–östlicher Divan (West–Eastern Divan), an anthology of poems by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who took his inspiration from the Persian poet Hafis. The first ensemble workshop took place in 1999, as part of Weimar's program as the European Capital of Culture that year.[6] Since Edward Said's death, his widow Mariam C. Said has been a co-leader of the orchestra.

Whilst the Middle East conflict continued, the West–Eastern Divan Orchestra developed into an international success story, with performances from Tokyo to Ramallah, from Berlin to Seville and Abu Dhabi, from New York to Buenos Aires and Rabat. The Barenboim–Said Academy will build on the principles and practices laid out in the work of the West–Eastern Divan Orchestra and transfer them into an academic setting. The Academy's joint music-humanities curriculum with its interdependent schools of listening and hearing draws once more on the concepts of Edward Said and Daniel Barenboim:

Edward Said and Daniel Barenboim in Seville, 2002
"Separation between peoples is not a solution for any of the problems that divide peoples. And certainly ignorance of the other provides no help whatever. Cooperation and coexistence of the kind that music lived as we have lived, performed, shared and loved it together, might be." (Edward Said)
"Great music is the result of concentrated listening – every musician listening intently to the voice of the composer and to each other. Harmony in personal or international relations can also only exist by listening, each party opening its ears to the other's narrative or point of view." (Daniel Barenboim)[2]

Barenboim emphasized the significance of "looking for the solution in oneself", when the West–Eastern Divan Orchestra performed Beethoven's 9th Symphony at the 2012 BBC Proms.[7]

Graduates will not only be trained to become musicians but educators, community leaders, artists and above all responsible citizens within their communities.

Facilities

The Pierre Boulez Concert Hall

The geographical location of the Barenboim–Said Academy in Berlin resonates with Germany's long-standing tradition of excellence in classical music and Berlin's status as one the world's leading cultural capitals. The academy is located in the former depot for stage sets of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. It was rebuilt after its destruction in World War II between 1951 and 1955 by the architect Richard Paulick. The building is landmark protected; its exterior and the main parts of its interior have been restored. A total of 6,500m² of floor space houses 21 rehearsal rooms, an auditorium, offices and ancillary spaces.[8][9] The main addition to the building is the new 682-seat Pierre Boulez Concert Hall in the eastern wing of the building, based on a design by Frank Gehry and planned by Yasuhisa Toyota as chief acoustician. The striking design of the concert hall reflects the ideas of French composer, director and theoretician Pierre Boulez, who was also consulted on the project.[10] Construction costs are estimated at €36 million, financed by private donors and a €20 million grant from the German Federal Government.[11][12][2] On June 15, 2015, the academy celebrated its topping out with a first viewing of the new concert hall. In the fall of 2016 the Barenboim–Said Academy moved into its new rooms. [13] The concert hall was openend on the 4th of March 2017 with a concert performed by Daniel Barenboim, Anna Prohaska and Joerg Widman.

Curriculum

The goal of the Barenboim–Said Academy's educational program is to refine and apply Daniel Barenboim's and Edward Said's concept of "Education through Music" rather than "Music Education." The curriculum will be structured in accordance with the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). Besides instruction in music (the "School of Hearing"), it will offer a core curriculum or studium generale in the humanities and related disciplines (the "School of Listening"). In addition, elective classes will be devoted to languages as well as other subjects geared to future practicing musicians and educators. General foci within the "School of Hearing" will be music theory and practice. The "School of Listening" will provide a space to study cultural criticism and the history of ideas. Other modalities of cultural and artistic expression will also be studied.

Lessons will be tailored to the students' talents and needs, and students are eligible for scholarships. Teachers will be selected by Daniel Barenboim. Regular attendance of rehearsals and concerts of the most prominent orchestras from Berlin and elsewhere will be facilitated to learn from world class performances.[11] The curriculum is supplemented by master classes with prominent musicians and public concerts, an annual Edward Said Memorial Lecture and extracurricular activities throughout the academic year, such as lectures, exhibitions, screenings, and other events.[14][2]

Relevant publications and performances

References

  1. ↑ Smale, Alison (December 9, 2016). "The Barenboim-Said Academy Opens in Berlin". The New York Times. Retrieved December 10, 2016. Print version appeared on December 10, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Michael Naumann, ed. "Barenboim–Said Academy Information Brochure". Berlin: Barenboim-Said Akademie gGmbH, 2013.
  3. ↑ Schmid, Rebecca (May 6, 2014). "Plans for Barenboim–Said Academy in Berlin Unveiled". New York Times. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
  4. ↑ Bach, Aya (May 7, 2014). "Foundation Laid for Barenboim–Said Academy". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  5. ↑ Vulliamy, Ed (May 13, 2008). "Bridging the gap, part two". The Guardian. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
  6. ↑ Tommasini, Anthony (December 21, 2006). "Barenboim Seeks Harmony, And More Than One Type". The New York Times. Retrieved March 12, 2009.
  7. ↑ "Beethoven's 9th." Daniel Barenboim and the West–Eastern Divan Orchestra at the BBC Proms, 2012 on YouTube
  8. ↑ Hanssen, Frederik (May 7, 2014). "Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin. Das Charakterbildungsprogramm des Stardirigenten". Tagesspiegel. Retrieved July 25, 2014.
  9. ↑ Bernau, Nikolaus (May 6, 2014). "Barenboim-Said Akademie. Vom Berghain Lernen". Berliner Zeitung. Retrieved July 25, 2014.
  10. ↑ Pierre Boulez: Orientations. Collected Writings. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard UP 1986, cf. p. 445 passim.
  11. 1 2 Burton-Hill, Clemency (January 25, 2013). "An Academy Seeks to Touch the Mideast With Music". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Kulturstaatsministerin Monika Grütters zum Baubeginn der Barenboim-Said Akademie.". Press Release. Federal Government of Germany. May 6, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  13. ↑ Lemaître, Frédéric (June 17, 2015). "Le rêve israélo-arabe de Daniel Barenboïm prend forme à Berlin". Le Monde. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  14. ↑ Goldmann, Ayala (May 6, 2014). "Baubeginn für Barenboim-Said-Akademie". Jüdische Allgemeine. Retrieved October 3, 2014.

Coordinates: 52°30′49.64″N 13°23′28.63″E / 52.5137889°N 13.3912861°E / 52.5137889; 13.3912861

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