Virtuoso pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim in his new book, Music Quickens Time, draws on his profound engagement with music to argue its urgent value and importance in our everyday lives. While we may sometimes think of personal, social, and political issues as existing independently of each other, Barenboim shows with bravura and passion how music teaches us that this is impossible.
Drawing on his own involvement with Palestine in a conversation with Paul Holdengräber, Barenboim will examine the transformative power of music in the world, from his own performances of Wagner in Israel, his friendship with Edward Said, to the creation of the internationally acclaimed West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which continues to bring together young musicians from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Tunisia, and Israel to make music. Barenboim describes first-hand how music offers us a way to explore differences and at times resolve some of the most seemingly intractable issues of our times.