The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra’s February 2026 tour with Maestro Zubin Mehta took the musicians through Spain, then on to Turin and Vienna. These short videos filmed along the way offer a simple glimpse of what happens beyond the stage: time in rehearsal rooms and backstage, moments of encounter and reflection, and, when the schedule allowed, brief pauses to take in the cities on the route.

Madrid rehearsals with Maestro Zubin Mehta are full steam ahead! These days are (mostly) all about focus and intensity as we fine-tune the three programs for the upcoming tour: from Wagner to Tchaikovsky, with Beethoven, Schubert, and Bruch. Rehearsals will continue ahead of our first concert on Saturday 14 February evening at the Auditorio Nacional.

Back in Madrid with the tour concertmaster, Mohamed Hiber, revisiting a city that shaped him. Between rehearsals at Teatro Real, there’s time to walk familiar streets through the historic centre towards Plaza Mayor. Mohamed lived in Madrid for years while studying at Escuela Reina Sofía, not far from the square. Plaza Mayor has also been part of the Divan’s own history: the setting for several memorable open-air summer concerts several years ago with Maestro Daniel Barenboim.

Why the Divan is the Divan. Maestro Daniel Barenboim: “Dialogue is very important. It doesn’t mean that you accept the other’s point of view. It means that you have a chance. You have a forum to express your point of view.”

Tour life is more than rehearsals, concerts, and travel. It is also the time for dialogue. Workshops and conversations have always been part of this orchestra’s identity. In recent tours, an additional space has been made available with one-to-one or small-group sessions with tools from nonviolent communication. During this February tour, we spoke with Mai Shahin and Maya Sasson, originary from Palestine, Israel, about their role on tour.

On this tour with Maestro Zubin Mehta, we perform Bruch’s Violin Concerto with María Dueñas — our first time making music together. Two concerts together: Saturday 14 at Madrid’s Auditorio Nacional and Monday 16 in Barcelona's L'Auditori. The programme also features Wagner’s Rienzi Overture and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4.

Orchestra meeting in Barcelona. A moment to speak, be heard, and reflect together. Many thanks for taking part in it.

Madrid, Barcelona, Turin… three cities that left us (some) time to look beyond the stage. After our last stop in Vienna, a small moment to remember offstage moments.

Beethoven and the Divan. On almost every tour, his music — especially the symphonies — has been a constant point of reference for the orchestra. Before this week's concert at @palaumusicacat in Barcelona, we spoke with Mina Zirki and Anastasia Denisov, Divan musicians for more than two decades, about the close bond between Beethoven, the orchestra, and Maestro Daniel Barenboim.

Oviedo holds a special place in the Divan's story. In 2002, the project’s founders, Edward W. Said and Maestro Daniel Barenboim, received the Príncipe de Asturias Award for Concordia — a recognition of the project’s commitment to listening, dialogue, reflection, and the shared work of making music together. We remember that moment as the Divan returns to the Asturian capital for the final concert in Spain on this February tour with Maestro Zubin Mehta.