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Just Shut Up and Play?
High profile musicians cancel tours of the USA
Can music be political? Should musicians take political stances or should the music world simply provide a bubble of 'beautiful music to relax to'? It has been said that all art (including music) reflects all aspects of the real world. But can and should artists and musicians change the world?
Just over three years ago, on the day that we recorded our March 2022 video newsletter, we woke up to the news that Vladimir Putin's Russian forces had invaded Ukraine.
Watch and listen — March 2022 Classical Music Daily Newsletter
The world hurriedly became polarised, with the West denouncing Russia, and pro-Putin musicians such as Anna Netrebko and Valery Gergiev quickly disappearing from western concert and opera stages. In the west we learned lots about Ukrainian culture, that the country's capital city should be referred to as Kyiv not Kiev and how to say Slava Ukraini! Heroiam Slava! (Glory to Ukraine! To the Heroes, Glory!)
In Listening to Tchaikovsky, Czech-German pianist, composer, teacher and writer Béla Hartmann asked some searching questions about whether we should even be listening to Russian music, and, as if in answer, we saw and heard Ukrainian oboist Alexander Koshelev, trapped in a bunker in Kharkiv, playing Tchaikovsky.
Watch and listen — Tchaikovsky: theme from Swan Lake
(Performed in a bunker in Kharkiv, Ukraine on 9 March 2022)
Recording © 2022 Alexander Koshelev
Moving forward by three years to February and March 2025, the world seems a changed place. Another brutal war, between Israel's Netanyahu and Palestine, has to a certain extent taken the spotlight away from Ukraine's troubles, which are still continuing. With the help of a rich South African-born car manufacturer, a convicted criminal has become President of the USA and has begun to make worrying, sweeping changes, removing frameworks (and jobs) which attempt to promote fair treatment of all people, including the removal of Black Lives Matter Plaza Northwest in Washington DC and re-establishing relations with Putin in Russia, putting Ukraine in a very dangerous position.
Two high profile classical musicians have recently cancelled their USA engagements in protest. On 1 March 2025, German violinist Christian Tetzlaff abruptly cancelled his string quartet's Spring tour of the USA, stating:
There seems to be a quietness or denial about what's going on. I feel utter anger ... I cannot just go and play a tour of beautiful concerts.
... what we ourselves can do, for example, is not buy Teslas, not use Amazon and avoid Facebook. All of this stuff we've so easily accepted in life unfortunately needs to be put to the test ...
Christian Tetzlaff. Photo © Giorgia Bertazzi
Yesterday, Hungarian-born British pianist and conductor András Schiff cancelled a US recital tour previously scheduled for October 2025 and engagements with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra previously arranged for May 2026. Schiff, known for his critical views of Russia and the current right-wing regime in his native Hungary, cites similar reasons for these cancellations:
Dear Friends, Colleagues and Music Lovers,
Due to the recent and unprecedented political changes in the United States, I feel morally obligated to withdraw from all engagements in the US for the 2025-2026 season. This is not an easy decision to make. Since the 1970s the US has been very important in my life, including the many years I lived in New York City. There have been hundreds of concerts and wonderful experiences with excellent orchestras and musicians. Some of my closest friends live in the States. I have a great deal for which to be thankful.
Some people might say, 'just shut up and play'. I cannot, in good conscience, do that. We do not live in an ivory tower where the arts are untouched by society. Arts and politics, arts and society are inseparable. Therefore, as artists, we must react to the horrors and injustices of this world. Have we learned nothing from the course of history - as recently as Europe in the 1930s? Perhaps not.
The American people have spoken – and we have heard them. Yes, indeed, there is a 'new sheriff in town', which has made it a very different 'town' - one that some of us no longer wish to visit. It is no longer obligatory.
Thank you for your friendship and continued support.
András Schiff. Photo © Nadia F Romanini / ECM Records
Two similar recent events in the classical music world indicate the worrying political shift in several countries. One week ago, the Ukrainian ambassador to Hungary attempted, unsuccessfully, to have Russian soprano Anna Netrebko's concert in Budapest cancelled. The reason given for the request was that Netrebko supports Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
Earlier, in January 2025, the Ukrainian ambassador to Slovakia made a similar request, asking for Netrebko's Bratislava concert to be cancelled, but was strongly advised not to interfere in the internal affairs of the republic.
As András Schiff stated yesterday, 'Let's not give up hope for better times'.
Posted 20 March 2025 by Keith Bramich
