Testimonials to music's impact

The Financial Times has this fascinating portrait of the extraordinary, admirable Daniel Barenboim, who is the titan in the field of cultural diplomacy. I have rarely read a more powerful testimonial to music's impact bridging cultures in conflict than the words of a young man in Gaza who came up to Barenboim after his concert there and said: "When the ­international community ignore us except to give us food, it makes us feel like animals. When you come here and give us a concert, it makes us feel like human beings."

Here at Afghanistan National Institute of Music, we also do our best to create a bridge between Afghan culture and the many Westerners who live and work in Kabul in the fields of diplomacy, reconstruction, aid, and development. Yesterday the Russian Ambassador visited our institute. After I conducted the Afghan Youth Orchestra in my arrangement of Bolero, he said: "One could hardly imagine coming to Afghanistan and hearing Ravel's Bolero played better than by any European orchestra. And what European director would have thought to improve the orchestra with such beautiful and ancient Afghan instruments? This mixing of Western and Afghan music is wonderful."

Music continues to act as that natural force which compels us to acknowledge our shared humanity.