Founded by Argentine-Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim and Palestinian-American academic Edward Said in 1999, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra’s mission to promote sympathetic co-existence between Arabs and Israelis has never felt more vital, or its outcome less certain. That same combination of determination and fragility was summed up in Barenboim’s second London appearance this year, shrugging off health concerns to lead the ensemble that’s closest to his heart.
Appropriately enough, optimism and despondency dominated a programme that juxtaposed the 24-year-old Mendelssohn’s musical snapshots of sun-drenched Italy with Brahms’ fatalistic, final symphonic utterance. Barenboim husbands his resources these days, approaching the podium with careful tread and gingerly taking his place to conduct seated. The music-making, however, is unimpaired, although physically the grand gestures are often attenuated. There were times he seemed to do nothing at all, until a barely raised hand or steely look conveyed a reminder of shared intent.
