Orchestra drops Tchaikovsky from its repertoire ‘in light of Russian invasion of Ukraine’ 

TchaikOFFsky: Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra drops Russian composer’s music from its repertoire ‘in light of invasion of Ukraine’

The Russian composer is widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time It said playing his music at upcoming concerts would be ‘inappropriate’ One MP criticised the decision, tweeting: ‘Putin is the enemy here. Not Russia’It is the latest in a series of cancellations of Russia in the musical world 

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The Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) has removed Russian composer Tchaikovsky from its programme of upcoming concerts, saying it would be ‘inappropriate at this time’.

The decision has been made ‘in light of the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine‘, according to a statement on the CPO’s website.

Fay Jones, the Conservative MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, responded with a tweet that said ‘Groan. Putin is the enemy here. Not Russia.’

The CPO’s decision means the 1812 Overture will no longer be played at St David’s Hall on March 18.

The new programme will include John Williams’ The Cowboys Overture, Dvorak’s Symphony No.8 and a performance of Elgar’s Variations On An Original Theme.

The move is the latest in a series of music resignations, cancellations and withdrawals that have been made since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Conductor Valery Gergiev, 68, was fired as chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic because of his support for Russian President Vladimir Putin and for not rejecting the invasion of Ukraine.

Munich mayor Dieter Reiter said the decision had been made after Gergiev, who had been the chief conductor since the 2015-16 season, did not respond to his calls to rethink and revise his very positive assessment of the Russian leader.

Gergiev’s resignation as honorary president of the Edinburgh International Festival was ‘asked for and accepted’ by the event’s board of trustees last month.                     

A statement on the festival’s website said: ‘Edinburgh is twinned with the city of Kyiv and this action is being taken in sympathy with, and support of, its citizens.’

Gergiev has also been dropped from the Vienna Philharmonic’s five-concert US tour, and his management company said on Sunday it will no longer represent him.

The Rotterdam Philharmonic in the Netherlands also cut ties with Gergiev, saying ‘an unbridgeable divide’ between the orchestra and conductor on the issue of the Russian invasion became clear after speaking to him.

Soprano Anna Netrebko withdrew from her future engagements at the Metropolitan Opera rather than repudiate her support for Mr Putin, costing the company one of its top singers and best box-office draws.

Tchaikovsky – the cosmopolitan composer turned Russian icon

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is widely considered to be Russia’s greatest classical composer and certainly one of the most popular. 

Born in 1840, his compositions have become crowd favourites across the world, often due to the memorable melodies and stirring harmonies, something that made him popular with the masses, but not with some of his contemporaries. 

During his career, which was tragically cut short by his death at the age of 53, he created an impressive seven symphonies, 11 operas, three ballets, five suites, 11 overtures and numerous other pieces. 

Many of these have now gained worldwide recognition, such as Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet,  his bombastic 1812 Overture and his Symphony No. 6 in B Minor.

However, during his lifetime, Tchaikovsky was criticised by fellow Russian musicians who declared his musical style was not sufficiently nationalistic.

Part of this was due to his desire to create music that would be embraced outside of Russia and in the Western world, whereas some other composers of his time felt he should steer away from this to focus on a style closer to Russian folk music. 

Despite this criticism, as his career progressed Tchaikovsky’s star continued to rise, and he became supremely popular in Russia and abroad. 

By the time of his death due to cholera in 1893 he had performed a concerts in Europe and in the United States to sold out venues.

The view that his music was not nationalistic was almost completely erased in the Soviet Union where he was elevated to the status of an icon, and criticism of him was almost completely forbidden.  

By comparison his personality, and by extension, his homosexuality, which had not been a secret during his lifetime, was a taboo subject to discuss. 

Source: Britannica 

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