Watch: Violinist is arrested in orchestra rehearsal

Watch: Violinist is arrested in orchestra rehearsal

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norman lebrecht

April 03, 2017

Russians are sharing video of a violinist who was arrested during rehearsal in the Volga town of Cheboksary. Andrei Osipov was accused of taking part in an anti-Putin demonstration.

Please share this document of Russian today. One arrest among thousands.

Comments

  • william osborne says:

    Another case of an orchestra musician being escorted from an orchestra by the police occurred recently, though under very different circumstances. A few years ago a member of the Cleveland Orchestra sexually assaulted a student at the University of Iowa while there as a visiting artist. After a thorough investigation the U of Iowa banned him for life from the campus. Cleveland recently performed at the U of Iowa. The orchestra member ignored the ban. Campus police showed up during the orchestra’s sound check before the concert and escorted him off campus. The second trombonist had to play his part for the concert.

  • Vlad says:

    Trombon, viola – sometime not big difference…

  • George Hlawiczka says:

    He says its against corruption of the state

  • Robert Holmén says:

    Does anyone know what the outcome of this arrest is?

    Charges? Trial date? Detention?

    • Gennady says:

      Most detainees in Moscow were released after questioning. Some of them were charged 10 € or a bit more. Most probably, the same thing here. He ignored the call to police, so policeman came after him. The guy says he is against Medvedev’s corruption and asks to cuff him. Policeman refuses. Looks nothing dangerous.

  • Branimir says:

    If this is arresting, than the Russian police is the politest in the world, or is the Russian people the most frightened by the state. Arrested man jumps into the police car by himself. NB, taking the front seat.
    Far from claiming Russia to be among the most liberal and human rights respecting democracies, but this is ridiculous. It almost looks as state propaganda about how scrupulous its police officers are when treating rebel citizens.

  • Tim Walton says:

    This is what happens when low lige scum like Putin runs a country.

    Nothing from the arse licker Gergiev of course.

  • Jaime Herrera says:

    On November 28, 2007, violinist Joseph Tang was arrested after playing a concert, not during rehearsal. He didn’t commit a “political” crime – he was arrested for defrauding violin owners who trusted him as a violin dealer. He actually served time in jail. The vast (vast) majority of musicians are not crime-prone although some have been notorious in other ways.

    • Bing4505 says:

      Regarding Tang – Here is the rest of the story. After spending 3 years in federal prison, he was deported back to Canada and permanently barred from returning to the US. Within 6 months of release, he tricked the authorities into allowing him to illegally change his name to Hao Ji Tang (by lying on his application), and he fabricated a new identity as an expert, Asian Art goods appraiser. In this role, he managed to scam at least one victim out of $30,000 using an art insurance scheme involving counterfeit goods. He subsequently moved to Europe and worked as an appraiser for Auctionata – a now defunct online auction firm. While working at Auctionata, his criminal past was discovered, and he was fired from the firm. He filed a defamation suit against the victim who had revealed his true identity. This suit was dismissed as abandoned within 6 months. A counter suit by the victim resulted in an award against Tang for the amount of nearly $400,000 in stolen violins and bows. Tang has failed to make any restitution payments and has now disappeared from sight. Although he is believed to be in Canada and may be attempting to re-enter the music industry or Asian Art market under a new, assumed name and identity. For further information see: http://www.haojitang.com

  • Dene Karaus says:

    I cannot believe some people want to know about the nature of the arrest and detention. ALL such State abuses are equally appalling, and must be resisted completely. The entire orchestra should have accompanied him to the jailhouse.

    • José Bergher says:

      You’re absolutely right. The entire orchestra should have accompanied him. But they were very scared and didn’t want to get into trouble with the KGB’s former chief, a very nice fellow by the name Vladimir Putin.

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