The concerts on this DVD and Blu-ray had been recorded at the 2007 Salzburg Festival, during the orchestras Salzburg residency. The ensemble "proved its status as a first-class orchestra that has no need to shy from comparisons with the philharmonic 'top dogs' from Vienna or Berlin" (Munich's Abendzeitung).
The idea of uniting young musicians from Israel, Palestine and various Arab countries into a musical ensemble still seems incredible today. Yet such an orchestra has been flourishing since 1999, when Daniel Barenboim and Edward Said founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra.
DVD: DTS 5.0, PCM Stereo
Total: 122 minutes
January 2012
“captures the sense of music-making on the wing...rarely has the final coda erupted with such overwhelming joy. The same electrifying concentration informs performances of Schoenberg's Variations and Tchaikovsky's Pathetique Symphony, which find Barenboim so emotionally involved that at times he gently coaxes the sounds from the orchestra rather than directing them imperiously.”
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