Concertmaster resigns, refusing to play Russian music

we hear that Martha Sparninia has resigned after 14 years as concertmaster of Latvia’s Sinfonietta Riga, claiming she is being forced to play too much music by Russian composers.

She says: ‘I am not the government of the country, I cannot influence big things. We have officials, diplomats who are all the time trying tirelessly to convince the officials of other countries that we need to put down weapons faster, increase sanctions… I have the feeling that in the field of music, we are simply doing the opposite: we choose Russian music for the tour than popularize, willingly or unwittingly, but we popularize this culture at a time when, in my opinion, it should be silenced – this culture is not in danger of extinction.’