Barenboim–Said Akademie Explained

Established:2016
Type:Public–private
Founder:Daniel Barenboim
Edward Said
Students:90
City:Berlin
Country:Germany

The Barenboim–Said Akademie (German: Barenboim-Said Akademie|links=no, Arabic: أكاديمية بارنبويم-سعيد, Hebrew: אקדמיית ברנבוים-סעיד) is an academy located in Berlin, Germany, offering bachelor's degrees and Artist Diploma certificates in music; it opened on 8 December 2016.[1] It was co-founded by the conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim and the literary theorist Edward Said.[2] 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.[3] [4] [5]

Background

The creation of the Barenboim–Said Akademie in 2015 was rooted in a pre-existing peace project, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra.[6] Edward Said and Daniel Barenboim co-founded the West–Eastern Divan Orchestra in Weimar, Germany in 1999, 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 Hafez.[7] The first ensemble workshop took place in 1999, part of Weimar's program as the European Capital of Culture.[8]

The academy, which emerged from the Orchestra, offers a program jointly in the music and in humanities, with the intent "to train excellent musicians who are also curious and well-educated."[9] Edward Said said of the founding of the Western-Eastern Divan Orchestra,

"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."[10]

Faculty

Facilities

The Barenboim–Said Akademie is located in the Mitte district of Berlin, housed 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 6,500 m2 of floor space houses 21 rehearsal rooms, an auditorium, offices and ancillary spaces.[15] [16] The main addition to the building is a 682-seat in the eastern wing of the building, based on a design by Frank Gehry and planned by Yasuhisa Toyota as chief acoustician.[17] [18] [19] The design of the concert hall reflects the ideas of French composer, director and theoretician Pierre Boulez, who was also consulted on the project.[20] Construction costs are estimated at €36 million, financed by private donors and a €20 million grant from the German Federal Government.[21] [22] The Barenboim–Said Academy moved into the space in the fall of 2016.[23] The concert hall was inaugurated on 4 March 2017.[24]

Depictions in popular culture

The Netflix miniseries Unorthodox based its fictional music academy on the Barenboim–Said Akademie.[25] [26] [27]

Relevant publications and performances

External links

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Notes and References

  1. Smale, Alison (9 December 2016). "The Barenboim-Said Academy Opens in Berlin". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 December 2016. Print version appeared on 10 December 2016.
  2. Web site: Foundation laid for Barenboim-Said Academy . Deutsche Welle. 22 April 2020 . 7 May 2014 .
  3. [Michael Naumann]
  4. Web site: Plans for Barenboim–Said Academy in Berlin Unveiled . The New York Times. 22 July 2014 . 6 May 2014 . Rebecca . Schmid.
  5. Web site: Foundation Laid for Barenboim–Said Academy . Deutsche Welle. 24 July 2014 . 7 May 2014 . Aya . Bach.
  6. Web site: Barenboim-Said Academy History . Barenboim-Said Akademie Website.
  7. News: A New Divan: Cultural dialogue between East and West 200 years after Goethe. Deutsche Welle. 22 April 2020. 25 November 2011.
  8. News: Barenboim Seeks Harmony, And More Than One Type. The New York Times. 12 March 2009. 21 December 2006. Anthony. Tommasini. Anthony Tommasini.
  9. Web site: Welcome. Barenboim-Said Akademie Website. 22 April 2020. 22 April 2020.
  10. Book: Iskandar . Adel . Rustom . Hakem . Edward Said: A Legacy of Emancipation and Representation . 2010 . University of California Press . 978-0-520-25890-7 .
  11. Web site: Faculty . 22 April 2020 . barenboimsaid.de . Barenboim-Said Akademie.
  12. News: Hanssen . Frederik . 3 June 2017 . Wenn mittags der Mond leuchtet . . Berlin . de . 22 April 2020.
  13. Web site: Barenboim-Said Akademie, Leadership . Barenboim-Said Akademie . 10 July 2024.
  14. News: 9 February 2018 . András Schiff wird Dozent an Barenboim-Said-Akademie . Musik Heute . Berlin . de . 22 April 2020.
  15. News: Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin. Das Charakterbildungsprogramm des Stardirigenten . Tagesspiegel . 25 July 2014 . 7 May 2014 . Frederik . Hanssen.
  16. News: Barenboim-Said Akademie. Vom Berghain Lernen . Berliner Zeitung . 25 July 2014 . 6 May 2014 . Nikolaus . Bernau.
  17. Web site: Pierre Boulez Saal: About the hall . 2018 . boulezsaal.de . 19 October 2018.
  18. Web site: The Pierre Boulez Saal . 2018 . barenboimsaid.de . 19 October 2018 . 19 October 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181019122130/https://barenboimsaid.de/concert-hall . dead .
  19. News: Sved . Mark . 6 March 2017 . Hall's sound and symbolism are dazzling . . Los Angeles . E3 . 18 May 2020.
  20. Pierre Boulez: Orientations. Collected Writings. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard UP 1986, cf. p. 445 passim.
  21. News: An Academy Seeks to Touch the Mideast With Music. The Wall Street Journal. 2 July 2014. 25 January 2013. Clemency. Burton-Hill. Clemency Burton-Hill.
  22. Web site: Kulturstaatsministerin Monika Grütters zum Baubeginn der Barenboim-Said Akademie. . Press Release . Federal Government of Germany . 26 October 2014 . 6 May 2014.
  23. News: Le rêve israélo-arabe de Daniel Barenboïm prend forme à Berlin . Le Monde . 22 June 2015 . 17 June 2015 . Frédéric . Lemaître.
  24. News: Swed . Mark . 5 March 2017 . New Gehry concert hall in Berlin thrills with its sound — and its symbolism . . Los Angeles . 16 November 2017.
  25. Web site: Bramesco . Charles . Unorthodox: behind the Deutschland 83 co-creator's new Netflix series . The Guardian . 26 March 2020 . 22 April 2020.
  26. News: Thomas Abeltshauser . Weg vom Ufer . Der Freitag . 22 April 2020.
  27. Web site: Thomas Abeltshauser . Maria Schrader: "Ich will den Blick auf die Dinge verändern" . Berliner Morgenpost . 22 March 2020 . 22 March 2020.