Abu Dhabi Festival honoured renowned Maestro Daniel Barenboim with the Abu Dhabi Festival Award 2024, recognizing the distinguished musician and globally acclaimed orchestra conductor for his outstanding lifetime contributions to music and culture, and his significant contributions to advancing the principles of equality and dialogue through music.This award, presented in partnership with Chopard, epitomizes the festival’s tradition of recognizing master artists from around the world for their laudable work fostering cultural diplomacy and dialogue.
The Abu Dhabi Festival has partnered with Maestro Barenboim on numerous initiatives, including the annual Arab Music Days in Berlin and organizing tours for the Filasteen Young Musicians Orchestrain Ramallah and other Palestinian regions, among many other projects.
Alongside the late Palestinian-American intellectual Edward Said, Barenboim co-founded the Western-Eastern Divan Orchestra, emphasizing the universal language of music and cementing his stature as a leading figure in classical music. Barenboim and Said established a workshop in 1999 to facilitate cultural dialogue among young musicians, naming it after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s “Western-Eastern Divan” collection of poems, a seminal work in shaping the concept of global culture. Comprising an equal number of Israeli and Arab musicians, along with members from Turkey, Iran, and Spain, the orchestra convenes annually for training and embarks on international music tours.
Her Excellency Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo, Founder of Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation (ADMAF), and Founder and Artistic Director of Abu Dhabi Festival said: “We award the Abu Dhabi Festival 2024 to the great musician and orchestra conductor Daniel Barenboim in recognition of his life achievements, which he dedicated to openness and enlightenment, and appreciation for his role as a global ambassador for the values of peace, tolerance, and dialogue, and as a supporter of music as a unified language for nations, and as a founder of the Western-Eastern Divan Orchestra alongside the late Palestinian-American thinker Edward Said.”
She continued: “Daniel Barenboim and the Barenboim-Said Foundation exert a profound global influence by leveraging music and the arts to facilitate dialogue among diverse cultures and societies. Through our enduring strategic collaboration, we endeavor to foster cooperation, elevate Emirati representation worldwide, and empower the younger generation. Our shared mission aims to cultivate values of respect and comprehension, laying the groundwork for a future characterized by equalityand peaceful coexistence. Our collaborative efforts include organizing annual Arab Music Days in Berlin and coordinating tours for the Filasteen Young Musicians Orchestra in Ramallah and other Palestinian regions, among numerous other initiatives.”
Maestro Daniel Barenboim commented: “I am deeply honored and delighted to accept the Abu Dhabi Festival Award 2024. Both the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in 1999 and the Barenboim-Said Academy in 2016 were founded as projects against ignorance, encouraging people to get to know the other and seek to understand what the other thinks and feels.”
He added:”My late friend Edward W. Said and I were always convinced that peace in the Middle East could not be achieved by military means. However, we knew that we could not pretend to solve the problem of the region or bring peace through music. But our message is loud and clear: There are people on both sides and the destinies of the Israelis and Palestinians are inextricably linked. Humanity is universal, and recognizing that truth is the only way.”
Abu Dhabi Festival prestigious award, launched in 2012 in partnership with Chopard, aims to honor individuals for their outstanding contributions throughout their lives in the fields of arts and culture. Over the years, the award has celebrated a distinguished group of outstanding winners, and the Abu Dhabi Festival has previously honored the Barenboim-Said Foundation represented by Mrs. Mariam Said, in recognition and appreciation of the inspiring achievements of the Foundation in promoting the arts in 2019.
