Mirga: We need to fight the Russians

From a programme note by Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla for tonight’s City of Birmingham Symphony concert:

My dad and my brother have said numerous times since Russia invaded Ukraine that they would go to the front and fight. We Lithuanians experienced so much crime from Russia that it feels as if the war is happening to us. “I feel it physically, in my own body, every day”, – again my Dad.

Poland was the first country to make the decision to not showcase any Russian art until the former red army leaves Ukraine in peace. Lithuania soon followed suit. I feel torn knowing this since I LOVE Russian music, literature and art – I am quarter Russian after all! Now though, we must focus our view on the “post-soviet” countries. We must explore the great work their people have created and therefore acknowledge the existence, identity and independence of those free countries.

That is why this programme is purely Georgian-Lithuanian-Polish-Jewish-Ukrainian. So many unknown pieces, and quite a few British premieres!

I imagine that by now, many of you will know the name Mieczysław Weinberg. His two concertos we are performing tonight show the wide arc from the early to the late work by Weinberg. He composed the Twelve Pieces for Flute in 1945, and the Concerto for Clarinet in 1970. Between which he suffered under Jewish discrimination, humiliation by the Soviet government, the loss of his stepfather who was murdered by the latter, and imprisonment. The early work for flute is very much influenced by Baroque and Bach as well as by Impressionism. The late clarinet concerto reveals the composer’s close relationship to Shostakovich. We hear the depth of Weinberg’s big opera “The Passenger” in this piece.

Folk songs are crucially important for the (smaller) countries that have big and aggressive neighbours. If those neighbours undertake violence, singing helps to remember their right to exist and to dream of a better future. “Requiem for Ukraine” by Igor Loboda, based on a Ukrainian folk song, is the heart of this programme.

Unwind with a beautifully simple melody and a jazzy rhythm – Vakhtang Kakhidze’s “Bruderschaft” provides the perfect ending to the concert.

The beginning is “Miške” – “In the Forest” by Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis. All the Lithuanian musicians take influence from him. His paintings, literature and music – an endless spring of inspiration. “I imagine the world as a big symphony” – Čiurlionis.

Full programme here.