Lucerne audience is made to listen to climate activists

Lucerne audience is made to listen to climate activists

Orchestras

norman lebrecht

September 10, 2023

When climate acctivists disrupted his Lucerne Festival concert with the Bavarian State Orchestra, conductor Vladimir Jurowski gave them a platform and told the aaudience to listen to their message.

The festival described the incident as follows:

‘We regret that yesterday’s concert was interrupted by ‘Renovate Switzerland’ climate activists. In general, we support standing up for environmental issues. However, we have no sympathy at all for the way the two activists acted. They disturbed our audience and artists.

‘Conductor Vladimir Jurowski reacted calmly and constructively and gave the activists the opportunity to briefly express themselves. In order to avoid escalation, they were not forcibly removed from the hall. Thus, it was possible to continue the concert after four minutes.’

Here is the conductor’s reaction:

Jurowski said: “Stop! Let them talk! Please. Then we’ll play our symphony. Otherwise, I’ll leave the stage now.’

Comments

  • 1312 says:

    Boooo hoooooo your concert was delayed by 10 minutes! Clearly you’ve never been to a non classical music festival. Those things never run on time, and you could bet it was because the headliner got really high. Kudos to Jurovski for his class, and screw all you degenerate fops who mock him because he dared let the activists speak. I hope you have children who never speak to you again once they leave the house.

  • Nick2 says:

    Well said Jurowski. We may object to concerts and other events being interrupted by protestors, but he handled that particular interruption with class and in a manner that ensured minimal disruption.

    • Bob Goldsmith says:

      Fascinating, a brave action by conductor Vladimir Jurowski which I endorse. This has really made me think. The Lucerne Festival is very prestigious and expensive to attend. The audience will have included many influential decision makers and opinion formers. Maybe this event has gone a small way to levelling out who has access to the media. I am full of admiration for Jurowski, a great statesman and conductor.

      • Greg Hlatky says:

        I would not be greatly surprised if the protesters and “influential decision makers”, “opinion formers” and those with sufficient prestige and money were in cahoots about this.

        In Climate Utopia, the lives of the wealthy, powerful and influential will go on as before. In return, the Climate Red Guards will be unleashed on us uninfluential proles, who will be reduced to shivering in our hovels and communal apartments, eating our meager Gov-O-Ration of bugbread and dying prematurely of diseases once easily cured. Because Climate hysterics are motivated not by love of the Earth but hatred of people.

  • Paul Barte says:

    The conductor’s decision will only encourage others to cause similar disruptions.

    • People are so sensitive now says:

      Should he have pulled a JEG-Tar and socked then in the mouth? At least they didn’t glue themselves to KKL.

  • Singeril says:

    One does have to wonder if the good Maestro would have been so differential to the protesters had it been a cause that he had more difficulty with.

  • japecake says:

    Bad precedent. This legitimizes the paint- and soup-flingers at museums. If activists think they’re changing minds when they do this, rather than engaging in sheer performative narcissism, they’re even more delusional than they seem.

  • Anon says:

    I wasn’t there luckily enough, though I am due to see them in Bucharest. I would of hit the road as soon as the lecture started. Hopefully there won’t be a repeat.

  • Beautiful Lucerne says:

    Some did leave as did I . There was a lack of security and feeling of safety , plus people couldn’t enjoy the music or venue. There was random shouting from audience members in German. I suspect they didn’t approve and were asking for help removing the protestors so they could enjoy the concert in peace while feeling their time and money are respected . Ironically, it happened during the fast movement of Bruckner that many think is the final movement . I left between movements after no effort was made to help the audience or orchestra.

  • Jo Green says:

    Weak…

  • Erik says:

    These comments prove that we are destined for extinction. You lot will listen to no one. I’m a musician myself and have absolutely no problems with this activism. Hope your home burns down or slides away in a flood, as it seems that will be what it takes to make you wake up and face reality.

  • Jcr says:

    Entitled cry babies

  • Don Antonio says:

    A concert is not an ‘open mike’ event. This was an act of social hijacking, and virtue signaling. The perpetrators should be fined the price of the house, divided by the length of the disturbance, and spend 72 hours in jail. It’s called paying for your convictions.

  • Beat the Hooven says:

    Never have I ever seen those “brave soul” activists lie down in front of a sheikh’s or billionaires private jets, or cause disturbance of any big oil companies headquarters… They can only afford to dead painters and composers!! Because then they will tell themselves that they do their duty without getting harmed only to do harm at art. Art is not your enemy, you clowns, big companies are…

  • Gustavo says:

    Jurowski showed real class and kept his cool.

    I wonder how other conductors would have reacted in today’s climate.

    Toscanini?

    Karajan?

    Celibidache?

    Solti?

  • MJM says:

    That audience paid to hear a concert, not to listen to protesters, no matter the message. The little conductor was gutless, blaming the audience for the disturbance. He should have left the stage and let someone with more character and greater concern for the AUDIENCE conduct the performance.

  • wannabe ostrich says:

    Not to be a wet blanket (moistened duvet?) but this youthful outburst of sincere concern for the planet has likely changed no person’s mind. Do they think that even one person in the (now global) audience thought: “wow, I didn’t know there was a climate crisis being debated and legislated in the world!”? Seems to be the equivalent of bumper-stickers on a motorcar. It was for them. I hope they do well, and do better work.

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