Is this a betrayal of art? The orchestra says it wants to avoid inflaming tensions. Critics accuse it of forgetting the power of great art and music to bring people together.
X
Next
Orchestra ridiculed for banning Tchaikovsky
Is this a betrayal of art? The orchestra says it wants to avoid inflaming tensions. Critics accuse it of forgetting the power of great art and music to bring people together.
X
PreviousNext
Horns! Bells! Cannon! Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture is one of the loudest pieces of classical music. It is played every 4th July for US Independence Day.
But the Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra has cancelled a performance this Friday. It says it would be "inappropriate at this time". Critics say the decision is stupid and pointless.
This is part of a boycott of Russian culture in opposition to the war in Ukraine. Festivals are removing music, art and film with links to Russia's government.
Tchaikovsky's overture celebrates the Russian defeat of the French invasion in 1812. It includes real cannon fire, church bells and an old Russian national anthem.
The orchestra decided this "military-themed" music was insensitive, because of the Russia-Ukraine war. But is this a step too far?
Some say it won't help Ukraine. People should be angry with the Russian government. Not its people or its culture.
The musician Julian Lloyd Webber says we need music. He remembers the "extraordinary intensity" of a Russian cellist playing in 1968, during the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia: "The tears pouring down his cheeks ... spoke more than any number of words."
The orchestra says they must respect a member with family in Ukraine. And one of the pieces, the Little Russian, is offensive to Ukrainians.
Tchaikovsky may have agreed with the decision. He hated the overture and called it "very loud and noisy." He loved Ukrainian music and did not want to compose nationalistic music.
Music is often cancelled because of the news. After 9/11, radio stations dropped songs about planes and explosions. They even banned some happy songs.
This is unlikely to change Putin's mind. But the debate does show us how music is closely linked to politics.
X
Previous
Is this a betrayal of art?
Yes: This is tone-deaf. Like all great art, music is a global language that unites us and promotes peace and understanding. Culture should not be a casualty of war.
No: Art is always political. By refusing to play the 1812 Overture, musicians reject Putin's war-like worldview.
Or... We need to separate the debate about a boycott from calls for cultural sensitivity. It is possible to oppose a ban on Russian culture and see why now is not the time for cannon fire in concert halls.
Keywords
Independence Day - Also called the Fourth of July, Independence Day marks the historic date in 1776 when the US Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress.
Boycott - To withdraw relations from an organisation as a punishment or protest. The word comes from the surname of a Victorian Irish landlord who was subject to a boycott from poor farmers who demanded rent reduction.
Czechoslovakia - Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993.
9/11 - A series of terrorist attacks that took place in the USA on 11 September 2001. It is known as 9/11 as Americans write the month first, and then the date. The attacks killed 2,996 people. Many of them died when two planes were hijacked and hit the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, causing them to collapse.
Orchestra ridiculed for banning Tchaikovsky
Glossary
Independence Day - Also called the Fourth of July, Independence Day marks the historic date in 1776 when the US Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress.
Boycott - To withdraw relations from an organisation as a punishment or protest. The word comes from the surname of a Victorian Irish landlord who was subject to a boycott from poor farmers who demanded rent reduction.
Czechoslovakia - Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993.
9/11 - A series of terrorist attacks that took place in the USA on 11 September 2001. It is known as 9/11 as Americans write the month first, and then the date. The attacks killed 2,996 people. Many of them died when two planes were hijacked and hit the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, causing them to collapse.