The pieces of Parallels and Paradoxes, which we read, exposed an idea of Daniel Barenboim and Edward Said, that culture, specifically music, is the best means of fostering a feeling of nearness between people. Barenboim tells of a Syrian boy and an Israeli boy who shared a music stand at the Weimar event. "They were trying to play the same note, to play with the same dynamic, with the same stroke of the bow, with the same sound, with the same expresion. They were trying to do something together. It's as simple as that." Music is best able to foster this feeling because "music provides the possibilty, on the one hand, to escape from life and, on the other hand, to understand it much better... Music says, 'Excuse me. This is human life.'"
I found the ideas of Barenboim and Said to be inspiring. Barenboim and Said recognized the presence of a common cultural aspect which allows people to experience contact and nearness and capitalized on that presence to show that Israelis and Palestinians can play the same note.
Question for Mariam Said: What part of your husband's work inspires you most?
Watching the movie and reading this piece really puts music in a powerful light. It is something that can go beyond the divides that normally separate one from another. However, for as much as music can bring people together, there has to be people willing to come together first. There was a moment in the article where a musician was excluded from a group that was improvising because he was not 'one of them'.
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