One UK organisation refuses to play the Ukraine anthem
NewsIn the past week:
The CBSO played the Ukrainian national anthem in Birmingham.
The RLPO played the Ukrainian national anthem in Liverpool.
ENO played the Ukrainian national anthem in the Coliseum.
The RSNO played the Ukrainian national anthem in Scotland.
The RPO, the LPO, the LSO all performed it in London.
Who’s missing?
The BBC orchestras.
Presumably an order was given from on high in the interest of some spurious ‘balance’.
This is the same BBC that once staged a wartime concert for Stalin’s birthday (I have the programme sheet).
Also played by the Orchestra of Opera North in Huddersfield.
I am sorry for the Western European Society. Their brains are severely manipulated, in their hearts an immense hate is cultivated. They are proudly supporting the evil without even realising it. The EU Cultural, Business, Industry figures who participate in Russiaphobia are clowns in the puppet theatre of Falsehood
My local orchestra’s management also refused to play the Ukrainian anthem, and I salute them for that.
Playing the Ukrainian anthem first of all frames the Russian people as evil bloodthirsty warmongers. Most Russians though are firmly against this invasion, countless have already been imprisoned/heavily fined for their resistance. Government is really cracking down hard on all dissent. And yet that doesn’t stop them from protesting. Russian people will suffer as much as Ukrainians (although obviously in a very different way) because of Putin’s actions, and don’t want the war as much as them.
Second, playing the anthem is a purely political action, instead of a moral one, and for most it’s just opportunistic posturing, totally devoid of any deeper intention or meaning, they do it because everybody else does it, and if they don’t, they get called out by Norman and the Slippedisc.com comment section mob.
My local orchestra chose instead to just dedicate the performance to all those affected by the war, after also considering the option of having a minute of silence before the start of the concert instead.
They initially wanted to play the first minute of Tchaikovsky’s 2nd Symphony, Little Russia. The symphony being of course based on Ukrainian themes and melodies, and Little Russia being the name given at the time to Ukraine. Sending a message of unity, brotherhood, showing that you can’t reduce the history of these two countries to their leader’s decisions. But this was vetoed by some in the orchestra, for fear that a less cultured and more tv-fanatic part of the audience would misunderstand the message,
The Ukrainian anthem does no such thing. Most sentient people know that most Russians probably don’t support the war Russia has launched on Ukraine. If you have been reading SD of late you will also see all the attention paid to putting the finger on prominent Russians to denounce the war, because we know many oppose it so we want to see just which ones – with a record of supporting Putin – remain quiet.
Please don’t refer to Tchaikovsky Symphony No.2 as “Little Russia(n)”. The nickname was given after the composer’s death, would have been offensive to Ukrainians at the time, and is most definitely offensive now. The nickname is quite unnecessary.
Wait till tonight!
This would be the same BBC that is taking actual practical rather than symbolic action and has broadcast the DEC appeal on Radio 3? And is switching its broadcasts to Russia to SW to evade Putin’s censorship? And which has broadcast a piece by a Ukrainian composer each day on Radio 3 since the invasion?
There’s a rather more important bit of cultural news from the Beeb today, which I notice you haven’t featured: BBC4 TV is to broadcast a cultural event as live each Sunday night: https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2022/bbc-arts-future-projects
Celebrate our greatest cultural institution, Norman!
Sorry not to see the Ulster Orchestra mentioned amongst the BBC’s listed forthcoming Sunday evening programmes. Despite the Protocol we are still part of the UK and part of the BBC’s family of orchestras. I hope it will feature in the next tranche.
Back to topic: the UO played the Ukrainian national anthem at its Ulster Hall concert on Thursday evening 3 March 2022 – recorded for BBC Radio 3.
I want to see that Sheet ! If it is not too brittle to be scanned or photographed. Not that I don’t belive you: just the fact that I a music fan and an History fan.
Just one small point Norman you may have forgotten – Russia under Stalin was fighting with us against Hitler in WW2. I think Churchill said, ‘He might be a B******* but he’s on our side!’
For the streaming BBC broadcasts here in Germany, its alliances are not at all in doubt, though I think it would prefer to not have its orchestras give anyone cause to question its “impartiality.”
Also the Oxford Philharmonic at the Sheldonian Theatre:
https://vimeo.com/682872640/f36ba409c7
The Boston Symphony didn’t play it last week. The Boston Philharmonic Youth orchestra did though.
“This is the same BBC that once staged a wartime concert for Stalin’s birthday”
So what?
That’s my TV licence fee cancelled. Woke, racist organisation
There is nothing remotely woke about refusing to play along with the symbolic gesture a lot of people have adopted. Takes a bit of courage, if the comments here are anything to go by.
I trust the usual BBC supporters will be providing explanations in due course.
In the meantime ……. silence.
Are the BBC orchestras really that pathetic? lf so, let them play to empty halls.
Shameful. Maybe we should all stop paying our License Fees and stick it up the BBC once and for all.
Did any of the BBC orchestras have a public concert last week?
Yes. The BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Centre, in which they play weekly. And the Head of the Barbican is ex BBC reporter Will Gompertz. The usual wheels within wheels organisations.
What is this the new BLM kneeling?
And the Royal Ballet Sinfonia (Birmingham Royal Ballet) in Salford.
I do get though that the BBC needs to be impartial. Think its a really important part of their journalism.
This is the same BBC that has journalists on the ground in Ukraine and in Russia and might not want to endanger them further by tweaking Putin’s nose. I am no great fan of the way the BBC does many things – look where the obsession with ‘balance’ and kow-towing to the Blukippers has got us – but when the other organisations mentioned have people potentially in danger it may be time to revisit this discussion. Don’t forget also that Stalin was of necessity our ally during WW2; who knows what the motivation was behind that birthday concert.
To be fair, the ‘Stalin’s Birthday’ concert was during the Second World War (21 December 1941) when Russia was officially an ally against Germany, so at that time the gesture would have seemed perfectly reasonable. See: Fairclough, Pauline (2016). ‘Brothers in Musical Arms: the wartime correspondence of Dmitrii Shostakovich and Henry Wood’. Russian Journal of Communication, 8(3), 273-287. https://doi.org/10.1080/19409419.2016.1213219
The National Symphony of Ireland also played the Ukranian National Anthem at the beginning of their concert in Dublin last night.
Royal Northern Sinfonia Orchestra began their concert at Sage Gateshead by performing the Ukrainian national anthem and then the audience stood in silence in solidarity with Ukraine. It was very moving.
BBC is already in trouble with journalists struggling as Sky ones nearly died yesterday – Stuart Ramsey et al as it was shown. BBC can’t now broadcast in Russia. Best they stay out of the politics of it all when mixed up with music and anthems and flags, and let others play the anthem who have not much to lose by doing so, and can make a statement by doing so without being journalists. They are not broadcasters.
There is a choice here, and no one should be shaming the BBC or anyone else for not playing the Ukrainian National Anthem. It’s not a rotten competition.
Well that’s no surprise they are so biased it beggars belief the only organisation they support is their own
There is a BIG difference between supporting one’s own organisation — which I would venture many organisations do — and protecting your staff. These people put themselves in harm’s way in order to report to the likes of you armchair critics. I personally know (knew) journalists who have died in war zones, and have mourned with their families. The BBC has a responsibility to their people and their families.
I am sorry for the Western European Society. Their brains are severely manipulated, in their hearts an immense hate is cultivated. They are proudly supporting the evil without even realising it. The EU Cultural, Business, Industry figures who participate in Russiaphobia are clowns in the puppet theatre of Falsehood
Perhaps the BBC prefers to stick to ‘God Save the Queen’, as part of its national broadcasting remit?
Not played in deference to BBC management’s Russian-bought Tory masters
Who? Who will not wear the ribbon!?