Following successful rehearsal days at the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra begins its spring tour with a concert at Beijing’s iconic National Centre for the Performing Arts on February 25, 2025. Further concerts take the orchestra to Suzhou, Shenzen and Guangzhou before returning to Europe for concerts in Vienna, Geneva and Budapest in March.
For this tour, the orchestra’s co-founder Daniel Barenboim has invited his longtime colleague and close personal friend, legendary conductor Zubin Mehta to lead the orchestra. Renowned German-Korean violinist Clara-Jumi Kang, who first performed with Daniel Barenboim at the age of 12, joins the tour as soloist for a program featuring works by Weber, Sibelius and Tchaikovsky, as well as Beethoven and Schubert.
Daniel Barenboim says: “I am thrilled that Zubin has agreed to join the Divan on this special tour. He is one of my most trusted friends and admired colleagues and I consider the Divan my most important responsibility, so to see Zubin and the Divan making music together is just thrilling for me. I know the tour will be a huge success and a further step in demonstrating to the world what a force the Divan has become on the international stage since its inception over 25 years ago.”
“The past days making music together with the fantastic musicians of the Divan have been simply wonderful and I am so excited for our concerts both in China and in Europe. I am grateful for the opportunity to share the stage with this special orchestra which my friend Daniel has shaped so profoundly over the past 25 years.”, adds Zubin Mehta.
