The inaugural festival will bring ten concerts to Berlin in November, with Daniel Barenboim, Lang Lang, Emmanuel Pahud and musicians from the wider West-Eastern Divan project among the participants.
Daniel Barenboim is launching a new West-Eastern Divan Festival in Berlin, bringing together artists and institutions associated with the musical and educational project he founded with the Palestinian scholar Edward Said.
The inaugural edition will take place from 11 to 18 November 2026, with ten concerts presented across three very different Berlin venues: the Philharmonie, the Pierre Boulez Saal and Berghain, the club internationally known for its role in the city’s electronic music scene.
The festival is organised by the Daniel Barenboim Foundation and will encompass orchestral and chamber music alongside contemporary and electronic music.
Barenboim and Lang Lang among the artists
Barenboim will take part in the festival alongside a roster that includes pianist Lang Lang, flautist Emmanuel Pahud, Iraqi oud player Naseer Shamma, pianist Kathleen Tagg and clarinettist David Krakauer.
The programme will also feature students and young musicians connected with several branches of the wider Barenboim-Said initiative, including the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin, the Fundación Barenboim-Said in Seville and the Barenboim-Said Center for Music in Ramallah.
The involvement of these institutions places the educational dimension of the project alongside performances by established international artists.
From the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra to a festival
Barenboim and Said founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in 1999, initially bringing together young musicians from Israel, Palestine and other countries in the Middle East. The ensemble gave its first concert that year in Weimar and has since developed into one of Barenboim’s most enduring projects.
Its principles subsequently provided the foundation for the Barenboim-Said Akademie, established in Berlin in 2012. The academy began teaching young musicians primarily from the Middle East and North Africa before moving into its permanent home, which also houses the Pierre Boulez Saal.
The new festival extends that network into a concentrated week of performances, bringing together different generations and musical traditions under the West-Eastern Divan name.
A new Berlin platform
The choice of venues also points to a programme conceived beyond the boundaries of a conventional classical music festival. While the Philharmonie provides Berlin’s major symphonic setting and the Pierre Boulez Saal has long been closely associated with Barenboim’s educational and artistic projects, the inclusion of Berghain introduces a markedly different musical environment.
The festival comes during another active period for Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. The conductor is currently leading the ensemble on its 2026 European summer tour , which included a Berlin Waldbühne concert with Yo-Yo Ma on 13 August, followed by appearances at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival and Lucerne Festival.
The full programme and ticket information for the inaugural West-Eastern Divan Festival are available through the festival’s official website .
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