Breaking: Andre Previn agrees to support Japan aid
mainAndre Previn, criticised for refusing to speak about Japan’s humanitarian crisis while touring the US and Canada with the NHK orchestra, has just agreed to donate ‘part of his honorarium’ to aid relief efforts.
We
would like to thank people in Canada for their support.
We are all deeply touched by kind words,
thoughts and prayers we are receiving all over the world.
We
were scheduled to depart from Narita airport in Tokyo 20 hrs after the first
earthquake hit us. We were not sure,
first, if we can make it to America.
We
struggled with the decision of whether we should cancel the tour or not. Most of us have had to leave our families
behind and two of our original members are not here because their homes were
destroyed.
Still at the end, after
having collected 93 members of our orchestra, we decided to forge ahead and come
to America, because we believe music can uplift the heart and strengthen the
spirit.
In
this occasion, Maestro Previn will be contributing part of his honorarium to the
Red Cross Japanese Earthquake/Tsunami relief fund.
Before the regular program,
Maestro Previn wish to present Bach’s Air as a tribute to the people of Japan.
Naoki Nojima
The
Chairman of NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo
I was hoping and praying this would happen. Thank heaven Maestro Previn has decided to be on the side of the angels here!