Founded by Daniel Barenboim and Palestinian literary scholar Edward W. Said in 1999, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra has been promoting dialogue between the different cultures of the Middle East through music-making and coexistence. They named the orchestra and workshop after Goethe’s collection of poetry West-östlicher Divan, a central work for the development of the concept of world culture.

Consisting of an equal number of Israeli and Arab musicians, together with a group of Turkish, Iranian, and Spanish members, the orchestra has developed into an internationally renowned ensemble that is at home at the most prestigious concert halls and festivals around the world and was designated a UN Global Advocate for Cultural Understanding in 2016. It has shared the stage with internationally acclaimed soloists, including Anne-Sophie Mutter, Yo-Yo Ma, and Martha Argerich, who have since been named honorary members of the orchestra. 

Music grants the individual the right and the obligation to express themselves fully while listening to the other. Based on this notion of equality, cooperation, and justice for all, the orchestra represents an alternative model to the current situation in the Middle East and has proven time and again that music can build bridges and break down barriers previously considered insurmountable. In this spirit, the musicians meet each summer for a workshop, where rehearsals are complemented by lectures and discussions, followed by an international tour. One of the orchestra’s central goals is to perform in the members’ home countries. 

The West-Eastern Divan Ensemble, created by the orchestra’s concertmaster, Michael Barenboim, in 2019, brings the same musical excellence and spirit to an intimate chamber-music format.

The West-Eastern Divan Ensemble is composed of musicians from the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and performs under the direction of concertmaster Michael Barenboim, who appears as soloist with renowned orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Israel Philarmonic and Chicago Symphony.

The ensemble, which grew out of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, brings the musical excellence as well as the spirit of the entire orchestra to an intimate chamber music format. Founded to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in 2019, the ensemble aims to further spread the orchestra's vision and offer audiences the opportunity to experience firsthand the outstanding individual artistic achievements of its musicians.

Since 2016, the state-recognized Barenboim-Said Akademie has been teaching talented young musicians, primarily from the Middle East and North Africa, in the pedagogical spirit of Edward Said and Daniel Barenboim. From the 2024-25 academic year, the Barenboim-Said Akademie will offer Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, Preparatory Program and Artist Diploma programs for up to 90 students. In addition to intensive study in music theory and performance, each program also features study in the humanities. Students learn to listen to each other and develop their own ideas within a broad, interdisciplinary, and transcultural educational setting.

The Barenboim-Said Akademie is also a lively place for artistic and intellectual exchange. Thanks to the musical programs in the Pierre Boulez Hall, designed by Frank Gehry, and a variety of lectures, symposia and other events, the Akademie is a place for international encounter and debate.From the 2024-25 academic year, the Barenboim-Said Akademie will offer Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, Preparatory Program and Artist Diploma programs.

Designed by architect Frank Gehry and acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, the Pierre Boulez Saal opened in March 2017. It is part of the Barenboim-Said Akademie and housed in a former set storage building of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. An ellipse-shaped, modular space in which sound and architecture blend in a unique way, the hall offers almost unlimited possibilities to experience music—from solo works to a wide range of chamber music to orchestral repertoire, from the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras to 20th-century classics and world premieres.

The idea of “Music for the Thinking Ear” serves as a motto, inspired by the limitless artistic curiosity of the hall’s guiding spirit, composer and conductor Pierre Boulez. This is most directly expressed in the concerts of the Boulez Ensemble, which was founded by Daniel Barenboim. In addition to chamber music from the 18th to the 21st centuries, music from the Middle East and Northern Africa as well as improvised music and jazz form major parts of the Pierre Boulez Saal’s program.

Through a variety of musical offerings, the BarenboimSaid Center for Music in Ramallah encourages and educates young Palestinians with the goal of developing their artistic talents and personal growth. By providing top-level musical education, the Center hopes to open a path forward for its students to continue their studies abroad at higher institutions of music education. Qualified graduates will have the opportunity to enroll at the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin. As an independent Palestinian entity, the Barenboim-Said Center for Music offers a curriculum of eight years. Students receive music lessons in individual instruments, voice, music theory, chamber music, choir, and orchestra. 

The Center currently provides a comprehensive musical education for 170 young people, offering three programs: a conservatory, a school and kindergarten program, and orchestral training via membership in the Filasteen Young Musicians Orchestra. The orchestra, which represents the Barenboim-Said Center for Music internationally, consists of students from the Center and young Palestinian musicians from the area as well as the diaspora. It was founded in 2015 and performs regularly in Palestine and other countries of the Middle East. In June 2023, the orchestra gave its first performance at the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin.

The Musikkindergarten Berlin was founded on the initiative of Daniel Barenboim together with the musicians of the Staatskapelle Berlin. Its activities place special emphasis on conveying musical abilities to children, in addition to providing them with a grounded, creative, holistic, varied, and aesthetically stimulating environment in their early years.

The musical dimension of the kindergarten includes not only giving youngsters a chance to come into contact with a wide range of musical instruments but also teaching them in a playful way to develop a feeling for rhythm, to learn the art of listening, and to develop motor skills through dance and creative movement. In short, the goal is to provide children with an opportunity to experience their awakening senses. The kindergarten incorporates aspects of the performing and fine arts into virtually all areas of early-childhood education. Music and art become an integral part of the children’s daily lives. The staff of professional caregivers has received special training in incorporating music into all areas of their work. The team receives support through regular visits from Daniel Barenboim and members of the Staatskapelle Berlin and the Staatsoper Chorus.

Humans are musical beings, therefore their education cannot take place without music. In the "Musical School" in Berlin-Pankow, a separate design for a general education school was realized, at which each student receives a holistic musical education in addition to the normal curriculum, including individual lessons on a musical instrument, ensemble playing and the interdisciplinary study of music as a central component of social education. Daily music-making adds rhythm to the school day, creates balance, is fun and motivates. Above all, however, all students at the Musical School are optimally supported in their intellectual, social and emotional development. They specifically practice key competencies such as active listening, non-verbal communication, interaction in complex contexts, empathy, impulse control and the recognition of overriding principles, and they experience cultural diversity as a richness and global musical life as a unifying element. With all the means at the disposal of the network of associated partners, the Barenboim-Said Academy, West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and Pierre Boulez Saal, the school community is connected to the cultural life of the city. Families and teachers are introduced to attending concerts and musicians regularly present their instruments and the music they are working on at school.

The idea of the Musical School has existed as a pilot project since 2018 at the Berlin Cosmopolitan School, founded in 2004. As an internationally oriented school in which the musical education of over 820 students of 54 different nationalities is centrally anchored, the school has become an important partner for the Daniel Barenboim Stiftung.