Orchestra performance inspires Pope's message on peace
July 12, 2012: “We must strive to achieve peace, leaving aside violence and weapons,
engaging personal and communal conversions, through dialogue, in a patient search
for an understanding that is possible”. This according to Pope Benedict XVI is the
lesson that we can draw from the “living witness” of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra,
and from the majestic notes of the Fifth and Sixth“We must strive to achieve peace,
leaving aside violence and weapons, engaging ourselves in Symphonies by Ludwig van
Beethoven.
The concert by this unique orchestra of musicians from Israel,
Palestine and other Arab nations, began as the sun-set over the courtyard of the Apostolic
Palace in Castel Gandolfo. It was a special treat for Pope Benedict, on the feast
of St. Benedict, organized by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi of the Pontifical Council
for Culture with the patronage of Italian President Giorgio Napolitano who was present
Wednesday evening, seated alongside the Pope.
As the last notes of the symphony
died on the evening air, and Maestro Barenboim bowed before a standing ovation, Pope
Benedict addressed those gathered, praising the foresight of the Israeli Maestro,
whom together with the late Edward Said – a Palestinian intellectual and accomplished
pianist – founded the orchestra to give the children of these divided communities
a vehicle to look beyond their differences.
In fact Pope Benedict began by
saying that music is above all a “harmony of differences”. It “brings people together,
beyond every division”. But – the Pope cautioned - “this does not happen magically
or automatically” it requires a “patient, laborious commitment that demands time and
sacrifice, in the effort of listening to each other”.
Pope Benedict spoke of
“the great symphony of peace between peoples, which is never completely accomplished”,
remembering how his generation and that of Maestro Barenboim's parents, “have experienced
the tragedies of World War II and the Holocaust”. The Pope concluded by thanking the
young men and women of the Orchestra and Maestro Barenboim, for being living witnesses
to the fact that peace and understanding – beyond differences and divisions – are
possible and must by everyone’s common goal.
Below a Vatican Radio translation
of excerpts from Pope Benedict XVI’s address:
You can imagine how I am pleased
to welcome an orchestra like this, born from the conviction, rather, from the experience
that music brings people together, beyond every division, because music is a harmony
of differences, just like at the beginning of a concert in the 'ritual' of fine-tuning.
From the variety of timbres of different instruments, a symphony can emerge. But this
does not happen magically or automatically! It is only achieved thanks to the efforts
of the Conductor and each single musician. A patient, laborious commitment that demands
time and sacrifice, in the effort of listening to each other, avoiding excessive aggrandizement,
privileging the success of the whole performance.
While expressing these thoughts,
my mind turns to the great symphony of peace between peoples, which is never completely
accomplished. My generation, as well as the parents of Maestro Barenboim, have experienced
the tragedies of World War II and the Holocaust. And it's very significant that you,
Maestro, after reaching the highest goals for a musician, wanted to create a project
like that of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, a group in which Israelis, Palestinians
and musicians from other Arab nations play together, people of Jewish, Muslim and
Christian religions. The numerous prizes which you and this Orchestra have been awarded
show at the same time, professional excellence and an ethical and spiritual commitment.
We heard as much this evening, listening to the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies by Ludwig
van Beethoven.
Even in this choice, in this approach there is an interesting
lesson for us. These two very famous symphonies express two aspects of life: tragedy
and peace, man's struggle against an adverse fate, and his soothing immersion in a
bucolic ambiance. Beethoven worked on these two oeuvres, in particular their completion,
almost simultaneously. So much so that they were performed for the first time together
- like tonight - in a memorable concert on December 22, 1808, in Vienna. The message
I want to draw today is this: we must strive to achieve peace, leaving aside violence
and weapons, engaging ourselves in personal and communal conversions, through dialogue,
in a patient search for understanding that is possible.
So thank you from my
heart Maestro Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra for being witnesses of
this path. To each of you my best wishes and prayers, that you may continue to sow
in the hope of peace in the world through the universal language of music.