Wonderful, beautiful article, thanks so much for this. So many thoughts and memories it brought to mind!
There is hope, though.
Recently, we were informed that Itzhak Perlman took a stand at a Los Angeles concert when anti-American audience members protested against the US. He began playing and singing God Bless America and took the entire audience with him. A spontaneous stroke of genius and solidarity with a blessed country and Western civilisation itself.
On the dark side, recently two massive rock concerts saw horrifying behaviour from their lead singers: Chris Martin of Coldplay acknowledging his "discovery" that Israelis are human, and Vynil at Glastonbury ( Death to the IDF) . The brutal reality of this nefarious use of music shows the profound decadence of our civilisation.
When the Israel Philharmonic performed in San Francisco and New York the anti-Israel crowds followed them. We must also remember Zubin Mehta, nowadays quite ill, who was like another Israeli, loyal and proud of Israel, since he was 25 years old. The musicians used to say that Bernstein was their Moses, and Zubin was their Joshua.
I was lucky in my life to have met and worked with Zubin, Isaac Stern( he was present at my conducting debut with the Israel Philharmonic, conducting The Rite of Spring ,whilst expecting my first child, eight months into it), Leonard Bernstein, with whom I studied in Germany and shared the stage at Tanglewood, and Rostropovich, whom I invited to perform Dvorak's
Concerto with me and one of my orchestras, and who subsequently stayed for my leading of Tchaikovsky's Fifth, being shockingly complimentary, and giving me tips from his experience.
We have so-called or self-proclaimed "Fighters for Civilisation" among musicians such as Daniel Barenboim, a Jewish pianist and conductor who but founded "Pierre Boulez Hall" connected with an "Academy Edward Saïd" - chief ideologist of 'Palestinian' terror - and an "East Western Divan" Orchestra.
We also have a.o. Igor Levit, a Jewish pianist who was particularly celebrated in "left" circles and spread the corresponding language formulas, and who was lately, like Lahav Shani - appearing rather not "Leftist" - and many other Jews/ jewish artists, aim of Jew Hate exactly by those "Leftist" circles with which Levit has worked so much "against racism" ... how "ungrateful" for Levit.
So (too) many artists currently are obsessed with things they call a.o. "multi-culturalism" which in itself is anything but bad or rejectable, but quite often includes inviting artists from regions that are far from being "multi-cultural" but rather hermetic and exclusive and who don´t speak out against that.
In the last century, it was still understandable that, after the Shoah was carried out by "extreme right" fascists, many artists took a stand against it. But even then, it was strange that, for example, the obvious Jew-hatred and Anti-Israelism of "socialists" and the Russian-dominated "Eastern Bloc" was barely noticed or problematized, and that dissidents like Rostropovich, Solzhenitsyn or Sakharov were viewed with suspicion in many self-proclaimed "anti-fascist" circles in the "West."
And the worship of a so-called and uncritically viewed "multiculturalism" is hardly different from the sugar-coated "love" for "classical music" of people who only want to listen to Mozart or Beethoven over and over again.
Anyone who wants to critically examine this mendacious ideologization - which does not recognize itself but instead wants to consider itself exclusively "resistant" or "progressive" -and its self-congratulation and conformity, without being reactionary oneself, has a difficult time.
Absolutely, thank you for this important comment. It's absolutely correct that we unfortunately nowadays see a kind of "anti-cultural heroism" Barenboim is a good example he can be seen as sort of an antithesis to the heroism of the likes of Rostropovitch and Stern. I tried to focus on the positive cases for this article.
And then, there are anti-heroes in classical music today, like this Israeli one. It's so sad.....at least he fits with the Birmingham recent refusal to allow Israeli soccer fans.
Wonderful, beautiful article, thanks so much for this. So many thoughts and memories it brought to mind!
There is hope, though.
Recently, we were informed that Itzhak Perlman took a stand at a Los Angeles concert when anti-American audience members protested against the US. He began playing and singing God Bless America and took the entire audience with him. A spontaneous stroke of genius and solidarity with a blessed country and Western civilisation itself.
On the dark side, recently two massive rock concerts saw horrifying behaviour from their lead singers: Chris Martin of Coldplay acknowledging his "discovery" that Israelis are human, and Vynil at Glastonbury ( Death to the IDF) . The brutal reality of this nefarious use of music shows the profound decadence of our civilisation.
When the Israel Philharmonic performed in San Francisco and New York the anti-Israel crowds followed them. We must also remember Zubin Mehta, nowadays quite ill, who was like another Israeli, loyal and proud of Israel, since he was 25 years old. The musicians used to say that Bernstein was their Moses, and Zubin was their Joshua.
I was lucky in my life to have met and worked with Zubin, Isaac Stern( he was present at my conducting debut with the Israel Philharmonic, conducting The Rite of Spring ,whilst expecting my first child, eight months into it), Leonard Bernstein, with whom I studied in Germany and shared the stage at Tanglewood, and Rostropovich, whom I invited to perform Dvorak's
Concerto with me and one of my orchestras, and who subsequently stayed for my leading of Tchaikovsky's Fifth, being shockingly complimentary, and giving me tips from his experience.
Oh, how I miss them.
We have so-called or self-proclaimed "Fighters for Civilisation" among musicians such as Daniel Barenboim, a Jewish pianist and conductor who but founded "Pierre Boulez Hall" connected with an "Academy Edward Saïd" - chief ideologist of 'Palestinian' terror - and an "East Western Divan" Orchestra.
We also have a.o. Igor Levit, a Jewish pianist who was particularly celebrated in "left" circles and spread the corresponding language formulas, and who was lately, like Lahav Shani - appearing rather not "Leftist" - and many other Jews/ jewish artists, aim of Jew Hate exactly by those "Leftist" circles with which Levit has worked so much "against racism" ... how "ungrateful" for Levit.
So (too) many artists currently are obsessed with things they call a.o. "multi-culturalism" which in itself is anything but bad or rejectable, but quite often includes inviting artists from regions that are far from being "multi-cultural" but rather hermetic and exclusive and who don´t speak out against that.
In the last century, it was still understandable that, after the Shoah was carried out by "extreme right" fascists, many artists took a stand against it. But even then, it was strange that, for example, the obvious Jew-hatred and Anti-Israelism of "socialists" and the Russian-dominated "Eastern Bloc" was barely noticed or problematized, and that dissidents like Rostropovich, Solzhenitsyn or Sakharov were viewed with suspicion in many self-proclaimed "anti-fascist" circles in the "West."
And the worship of a so-called and uncritically viewed "multiculturalism" is hardly different from the sugar-coated "love" for "classical music" of people who only want to listen to Mozart or Beethoven over and over again.
Anyone who wants to critically examine this mendacious ideologization - which does not recognize itself but instead wants to consider itself exclusively "resistant" or "progressive" -and its self-congratulation and conformity, without being reactionary oneself, has a difficult time.
Absolutely, thank you for this important comment. It's absolutely correct that we unfortunately nowadays see a kind of "anti-cultural heroism" Barenboim is a good example he can be seen as sort of an antithesis to the heroism of the likes of Rostropovitch and Stern. I tried to focus on the positive cases for this article.
The only chronicle I've read on the birth of the State of Israel in Exodus, until now. Thank you, well done, sir!
Thanks Mark! Glad you liked it!
Thank you for the excellent history lesson and your brilliant work!
And then, there are anti-heroes in classical music today, like this Israeli one. It's so sad.....at least he fits with the Birmingham recent refusal to allow Israeli soccer fans.
https://slippedisc.com/2025/10/ilan-volkov-calls-for-israel-boycott/