Mirga reads Israel statement for the New York Philharmonic
NewsBefore last night’s concert, her first with the NY Phil, the Lithuanian conductor read the following statement on behalf of the orchestra.
The New York Philharmonic dedicates this concert to those impacted by the conflict and humanitarian crisis in Israel and the Gaza Strip. We denounce acts of terror, mourn the loss of innocent life, and hold in our hearts and minds those in our community whose friends, family, and loved ones have been affected.
The statement, welcome though it was, appears less empathetic and emphatic than Peter Gelb’s parallel gesture at the Met.
Why do you constantly complain about the exact words of peoples statements. Perhaps you want everyone to speak with the same tone or maybe you should write everyone’s statements for them. This is boring and boorish.
Agreed. However, I’m impressed that your comment was allowed through the net.
Criticisms often depend on the author of the statement.
A milquetoast statement typical of the UN, we feel for both sides, we condemn violence in all forms, read by a first-time guest conductor who has no ties to the Philharmonic, aimed to offend to one…
Anyone in particular you wish to offend?
No mention that one barbaric/medieval outfit started the whole thing. The Left has a lot of explaining to do over its support of Palestine; these people voted for Hamas themselves!!!!!!
They voted for Hamas once, 17 years ago, and Hamas has never allowed another election.
And lots of us on “the Left” understand this very well and despise Hamas.
Less emphatic meaning more inclusive? Recognising that there are innocent people suffering on both sides of this crisis?
I must say Mirga’s/NY Phil statement actually brings to mind Barenboim’s statement. SHAME and DISGRACE. I hope this will not go unnoticed by the NY Phil donors.
Which part is disgraceful? The denouncing acts of terror? The mourning the loss of innocent life? Seems hard to argue with anything here, unless you’d prefer a more vengeful, “kill ’em all” statement.
No balanced response to the outrage recently suffered by the decent Israeli people should fail to take into account the unspeakable hardship and torture to which their government (a terrorist organisation like Hamas) has subjected the Palestinians, particularly in Gaza, for decades. It’s always the innocent people – those whose only wish is to lead a normal life with family, friends and honest work – who suffer from these actions, not the arseholes who provoke them.
We need music more than ever. Again.
Israel vacated Gaze in 2005.
Sandalio’s comment is despicable Another progressive equating Israel with a genocidal terrorist organization. His statement is a joke. Maybe he should go to Afghanistan and bring a violin and see what reception he would get. I assume he has never been to Israel or the West Bank. The tortured and oppressed people in WB have higher household incomes than in Egypt Jordan Iraq and Syria. I wonder if he had any outrage over the 500,000 Arabs murdered by Assad and the Iranians
If Hamas had ever quit lobbing missiles and explosives over the border at Israeli civilians, Israel would long ago have stopped bombing Gaza and might even have loosened the border.
Hamas, of course has been only too happy to use Gaza’s civilian population as human shields, so that neither Israel nor anyone else could take out its missiles and weapons without hurting Gazan civilians.
Israel just warned civilians in Gaza City to evacuate. Hamas then ordered the civilians to stay put. That ought to tell you something.
“Va, Pensiero” is such an elegant statement in choral form that it is difficult to find spoken words that can compete and/or equal it. Maybe the NY Phil recognized that fact and decided to ‘quit while they were ahead’?
I went to the grocery store and my local bakery this morning. Neither had posted a statement! Nor have my utility company, internet provider, or dry cleaner.
Hilarious. You are so good at this, you should have a half hour every night on TV to share your cunning wit.
You should do his first part then..
Meaningless statement, and unnecessary. I love how the people who are constantly mouthing that lame Bernstein quote and jawing on about the eternal power of music etc etc are also the first to bend over backwards tying themselves in verbal knots about this or that crisis. Pick one.
Oh, please…
(and not quoting Bernstein, by the way; who was right, by the way – and as far from a lame quote as it is possible to be, if you like music at all – which many of the people who visit this site apparently do not)
Knots are usually noticed by knotty people.
Yeah, it is. It’s lame. Nobody who has experienced violence reacts by “making music”. Get real.
If you think that, you haven’t experienced violence. Stay in your lane
One does if one is a musician. And the world needs musicians a lot more than it needs criminal politicians and other assorted hasnamusses.
Byeee!
How many schools and hospitals did Israel blow up today? Has Gaza been completely leveled yet?
Hope so
Excuse me: I am constantly mystified by this will to obliterate a people, and their communities. Haven’t we been through this before?
Nice gesture, shameful statement. Children were murdered, women raped and murdered, whole families torched to die in their homes, infants and elderly kidnapped and you condemn any violence from both sides?????
Don’t worry, the war crimes and humanitarian crisis about to happen on behalf of the Israeli army will put anything Hamas has done to shame!
I ALSO URGE SUBSCIBERS OF THE NY PHIL, MANY OF THEM JEWS, TO CANCeL THEIR SUBSCRIPTIONS. After seeing the atrocities by the Hamas, how dare this orchestra issue such a statement? And where is Mirga’s moral stance, if there is any? And this is Lenny Bernstein’s orchestra. What a disgrace.
11 members of Havron family have disappeared from Kibutz Be’eri. Would any of you bother to help find them?
4 of them are toddlers.
The brave ISIS-Hamas “freedom fighters”, so many of the talkbacks seem to support, have a special treatment for young children: They rape them, torture them and either burn them alive or behead them.
Sometimes they shaw a sense of humour too: Today the burial of one of the dead had to be postponed because a live hand granade was inserted into the corps anus. Took some time to have it safly removed.
Those of you who take the easy way and blame “both sides” or accuse Israel of crualty (real or fabricated) should consider this: All wars are terible, and all nations had to wage them from time to time. Isreal’s War aim had never been genocide (and under Israeli rule Arab population actualy increased at about the same rate as the Jewish). Hamas never bothered to pretend – they aim at killing every living Jew in Israel.
They are absolute evil. This is not a political question in which different views are legitimate unless you are willing to consider the pros and cons of genocide.
I like it. Short but direct.
Praying for peace in the Middle East
Yesterday i saw videos of babies who were torched live by the terrorists in Israel. Women raped and brutally murdered with their hands tied behind their vack.
Some victims were peace activists- one couple used to bring Palestinians children from Gaza to israel for cancer treatment.
So anyone who does not condemn the terrorists in clear language is complicit. Now we see how the Holocaust was allowed to happen.
I expected more from New York Philharmonic.
I’ve played under Mirga. She’s absolutely tedious. Luckily, world class orchestras do the work for her… She has absolutely nothing interesting to say or show, but alas, she’s being hyped and thus we’re all nice to her. A man of similar talent would have long been metaphorically ripped to shreds. So much for equality…