2016 BBC Proms and the West Eastern Divan Orchestra

This was the proms concert I had my eye on for the time period I was going to be in London. One of my colleagues in the San Antonio Symphony has played often in this orchestra (however not this year).

He has spoken to me fondly about his experiences with this group. 

Instead of typing out the orchestra's history, I will present you with a copy of their biography from the program.

My colleague said he appreciated the efforts towards dialogue outside of rehearsals. The orchestra would meet, watch a documentary about some aspect of the Middle East and then discuss it. They are all about humanity and co-existence. 

I am not sure why they include some musicians from Spain, other than the fact that the orchestra seems to rehearse now in Spain. I had heard from my friend that they used to rehearse in Argentina and then tour in South America before going on tour in Europe in the summer. With Mr. Barenboim's connections to Argentina (he was born there), it does not surprise me that the orchestra went there. Also the orchestra frequently collaborates with the Argentinean pianist Martha Argerich, a childhood friend of Barenboim.

My friend said the tour is long (4-5 weeks) and grueling. The musicians receive a salary and their expenses are paid (travel, room and most of board). It is just too hard for him to be away from his family for that length of time. He has not played with them for several years.

Last night's sold out concert was magical. The orchestra has played often at the Proms, so this group is known here. Apparently Mr. Barenboim is well loved in London, as he studied here and later conducted here. His marriage to the British cellist Jacqueline du Pré also endeared him to British audiences. No wonder there was thunderous applause for Mr Barenboim all night long.

The orchestra started out with a piece by Jörg Widmann inspired by Beethoven's symphonies #s 7&8.

"Con brio" quoted fragments of melodies and rhythms from these symphonies amongst explorations of sounds on the instruments (tympanist hitting rim of drums, woodwind players blowing into their instruments without producing actual pitches, string players exploring sounds close to the bridge etc.).

At points there was a lot of rhythmic drive to the music. In other places calm and silences prevailed.

It was interesting, but I did not get super excited about the piece.

One of the highlights of the evening was Martha Argerich's playing. She joined the orchestra for Liszt's piano concert #1. She showed the extremes of emotions very well. She plays powerfully when appropriate and delicately when called for. I think she is around 75 years old now. I am fortunate to have heard her live. Everyone was holding their breath to see if she walked out on stage. I heard that she recently cancelled her performance of that piece with this orchestra in Salzburg as she was not feeling well. She is prone to cancel at the last minute (due to illness-cancer- or nerves). She did appear to be a bit frail when walking. She played beautifully. Of course the audience (me included) wanted to hear more from her. After many bows she gave in and played Schubert's Rondo in A for 1 piano 4 hands with Mr. Barenboim beside her. It was a long encore (over 10 minutes long). It was played so delicately that you could have heard a pin drop in the audience.

On the second half of the program the orchestra performed Wagner selections from Tannhäuser, Götterdämmerung and Die Meistersinger. They were masterfully played. Barenboim is a master at balance - bringing to the fore the appropriate melody at the right time. I could tell that the orchestra understood the story behind the music by showing the temperament of the music. At times Barenboim stopped conducting and just pointed to the instrument that took the lead melody. True chamber music.

As encores (yes, more than one!) they played the prelude to act 3 of "Die Meistersinger". It was hauntingly beautiful. The more lively encore was from the opera "Lohengrin" - the famous bit.

The only way the applause ended was when the orchestra walked off the stage. Otherwise we would have kept clapping for more.

Here is a birds eye view of the stage during the bows.

It was really an outstanding concert. If you have a chance to hear these performers, go!