Maestro Barenboim Leads Historic Concert in Gaza

Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim and an orchestra of prestigious European musicians on Tuesday played an historic concert in Gaza, drawing rapturous applause as they performed in a show of solidarity and peace.

It was the first time such a large group of celebrated classical musicians had played in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, which has been largely sealed off from the rest of the world by an Israeli blockade for nearly five years.

Hundreds of first-time concert-goers, including scores of teenage school girls, packed into a seafront hotel in the northern town of Beit Lahiya to hear the performance by the "Orchestra for Gaza" -- a 25-member ensemble put together especially for the occasion.

The "peace concert," which was organized by the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, marks the first time that Barenboim, a tireless campaigner for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, has managed to get into Gaza.

As the audience settled into their seats, players from five of Europe's best known orchestras stepped onto the stage to tune their instruments under a blaze of twinkling fairy lights.

More than 300 people had been invited to watch the performance, with many in the audience admitting they were thrilled to be there and heartened that an Israeli had chosen to come to Gaza.

As the 68-year-old maestro walked on stage, the crowd leapt to their feet and applauded furiously, only to fall silent as the orchestra began playing the opening bars of Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.

"This is a unique gesture from the whole of Europe for you, Gaza," Barenboim said in remarks which were also translated into Arabic.

"You have been blocked here for many years. And this is why we all came today ... not only to give you solace and maybe pleasure in listening, but so you understand that many people from all over the world care for you," he said.

For most people, it was the first time they had attended a classical concert, with most of the audience breaking into spontaneous applause at the end of each movement, drawing a wry smile from several players on stage.

As the orchestra began to play the first movement of Mozart's G minor symphony (no. 40), smiles and whispers broke out all around as the crowd recognized the melody used by Lebanese singer Fairuz in "Ya Ana" -- one of her most famous songs.

"I am a Palestinian," he said to thunderous applause. "I am also Israeli, so you see it is possible to be both," said Barenboim who lives in Berlin and who took honorary Palestinian citizenship in 2008. "I am saddened and hurt by the way our conflict is developing."

For a handful of people, the concert was a dream come true.

"It is incredible to see musicians like this coming here," said Elena al-Lidawi, a Russian pianist who teaches at Al-Qattan, Gaza's only music school. "To see Daniel Barenboim here is amazing -- it is a kind of heroism."

For others, it was the fact that he had come as an Israeli.

"It is very significant," admitted Fatma Shahin, a 28-year-old English teacher accompanying a group of girls from a U.N. school in Jabaliya refugee camp.

"It will really make a difference since he is bringing a message of peace," she told Agence France Presse. "The girls will like it because it gives them a message ... a chance to think before judging people."

Barenboim is renowned for his attempts to make peace through music which in 1999 saw him set up a "peace orchestra" known as the East-West Divan orchestra with his friend Edward W. Said, a Palestinian-American scholar who died in 2003.

Speaking to AFP shortly after the concert, his widow Miriam Said said she was delighted to have witnessed the performance.

"This was great!" she said. "My husband would have been elated. I hope the people appreciate and understand the importance of this visit."

It was also an emotional day for the musicians, who entered Gaza through the southern Rafah crossing with Egypt early on Tuesday.

"I've played these pieces hundreds of times before but playing here was entirely different," said Dieter Flury, a flautist with the Vienna Philharmonic. "It was probably more of an historical moment than any other concert I've ever played."

Barenboim's ensemble also included players from the Berlin Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Berlin, Orchestre de Paris and the Orchestra of La Scala di Milano.

One of those accompanying them was Jerome Clement, former president of French-German TV network ARTE. Asked if it was a frightening experience to come to Gaza, Clement, who is Jewish, thought for a moment: "A little," he told AFP.

"But it was very important to give this message of peace, friendship and humanity through music. That's why we came."