Concert Review: 'Concert for Two Peoples'

Pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim led the young Israeli and Palestinian members of the Mozart Orchestra, a group which he founded.

By URY EPPSTEIN
"Concert for Two Peoples" Conductor and Pianist: Daniel Barenboim The Mozart Orchestra YMCA Auditorium Sponsored by the Jerusalem Music Center, Mishkenot Sha'ananim March 28 In "Concert for Two Peoples," pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim led the young Israeli and Palestinian members of the Mozart Orchestra, a group which he founded. The musicians sat beside each other in idyllic harmony, collaborating in their playing, all intent on making the best possible music together. Their enthusiasm, involvement and common effort looked and sounded too good to be true. Their serious concentration and attentiveness to the conductor's minutest intentions resulted in playing that was homogeneous, perfectly consolidated, vibrant, accurate, and rich in sound and subtle nuances of dynamics. In short, they were cohesive - no less than one would expect from a mature orchestra. For them, playing was obviously not a matter of routine, but a significant experience. In Mozart's Concertos for Two Pianos K. 365 and K. 595, Barenboim performed as a soloist at one piano while Saleem Abboud Ashkar played an impeccably polished rendition at the other. It was an inspired performance. Only a combination of idealism and naivete could make such a demanding endeavor succeed.