Just in: Polish competition bans all Russian music
NewsMessage received from the Director of the Karol Szymanowski International Music Competition:
Given the current sensitivities in Poland to Russian culture, and as a gesture of solidarity with the Ukrainian people, it has been decided that no works by Russian composers will be performed at the 2nd Karol Szymanowski International Music Competition in Katowice.
We are filled with sadness, as we remained hopeful to the very last moment that the conflict across our border would be solved peacefully and we would be able to continue organising the Competition without such decisions needing to be made.
We are acutely aware that this decision comes only a few weeks before the Competition begins and that those competitors who had planned to perform works by Russian composers are at a disadvantage. To ensure the Competition remains equal for all competitors, the Jury has decided to reduce the length of the required programmes.
You can always count on the freedom-loving and musically-cultured Poles to do the right thing! Their government is far from perfect…but so is the US! And both can (and will!) change for the democratic better!
This is as dumb as it is disgusting. And considering the direction democracy is taking in Poland, they’ll soon need to ban their own composers as well.
Really? You’re aware of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia?
what is the connection with Tchaikovsky?
The counter-enlightenment is in full swing. Small yet greedy, some psychotic, minds rule the world. Humanity is in the process of compartementilization, ‘divide et impera’, the cohesive power of enlightened civilization is lost. Full out war US (through proxy NATO) with Russia is getting likelier and likelier by the day.
One day in the not so far future we might all sit in some bunker (best case) and wonder what we could have done to prevent this.
Well and to the Poles: useful idiots for the Americans since the days the the iron curtain fell, easy to manipulate with their collective nationalistic trauma.
Uuh, would you have banned Bach and Beethoven because of the Nazis?….
At the time of II World War – yes.
What’s your point
With Russia getting closer to the Polish border, I’m not sure I’d want to play Russian music there either
Did Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky personally order airstrikes against the Ukrainians?
Agreed, we have solid evidence that many of the banned composers would be completely against what is happening. All this does is greatly disenfranchise those Russians who are stuck in the middle of this. I would guess there are far more Russians against the war than for it.
There are many more thoughts on this topic, but the thinking of the above decision may be great virtue signalling now, but only enhances any boundaries and hatred that may already exist.
I am not against Russia. I am against those who propagate war against other nations, under the name of a nation of amazing people, friends, and musicians.
Russia is literally waging war against Ukraine. How can you not be against Russia?
Well, this is one way to get your little competition some publicity in a crowded feed.
This is deeply wrong. These are political and ideologic arguments at a very miserable level.
While the director says this is an: “organising the competition” others would call this is a ‘rigging of the contest’ and waiting until the last possible moment to spring this goes beyond cowardice.
Also called infinite stupidity, provincialism, a crushing bore, craving instant publicity, plain envy (and an inferior complex with other competitions) camouflaged as solidarity, passé patriotism and more.
Even under communism, Poland had better people than this.
Absolutely. The great composer(who would have been denounced as homosexual by the neo-fascist Polish government) after whom the competition is named would have been appalled.
How do you know that?
I always thought, classical music (and the idea of it), as well as classical musicians, was that it/they should be above such things as politics. The idea of so many classical masterpieces is that despite of all the suffering in the lives of so many composers, we get to hear the most beautiful and introvert corners of one’s heart and soul. Excluding music from a competition’s programme, just because of its nationality, is beyond any comprehension. This is an insult to all the classical music and a slap in the face for all classical musicians worldwide. I am just speechless…
This isn’t politics. It is war.
It’s not Tchaikovsky’s war.
Exactly the soundtrack I’m sure Ukraine needs to bolster support
“Gee, Officer Krupke”!
“Politics is war without bloodshed,
war is politics with bloodshed” – Mao Zedong.
Yes, this is war, this is genocide and planned ‘final solution’ for the Ukrainians and their culture .Many ukrainian musicians were already killed in bombings and fights. Thus the prevailing pro-russian, anti-polish comments in this forum is an appaling sign.
Russia needs strong signals of rejection from the free world. We are aware that Shostakovitch, Stravinsky were Poles , that Rachmaninov left Russia for the USA, not to mention pre-soviet composers etc. however believe me: even Dimitri Shostakovitch would support such move by the Poles. Russian music will be back, as soon as Ukraine is free from their barbaric oppressors.
Hmmm… So no Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Kapustin, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Scriabin etc.etc… Oh does Stravinsky count as a true Russian to ban cos he had French and USA citizenship?
Yeah, it is really Russia that is losing here… God, how I wish all of them would be alive and ban the whole West to play any of their music… Then sit down and watch them try to fill their void with…well…more WAGNER maybe?
Good luck with that competition, whatever their name is… It is also very unfortunate for the competitors because many of them were probably going to play from Russian composers, how can you not?
To “honor” this oh-so-democratic-decision, I will make a playlist for all those wonderful composers to celebrate their genius, creativity, grasp of human struggles and contributions to classical music which is colossal.
Karol Szymanovsky was born in Russian Empire and spent more years of his life than in Poland. If his estate wasn’t ruined during revolution he might not move to Poland. What he would think of that decision?
Correction, Szymanowski was born in disputed Ukraine/ Eastern Poland territory under the control of the Russian Empire.
Thank you, Basia . Clueless man. Needs to read a few books and educate himself on the history of Poland.
Not quite, Tymoszowka is right in the middle of Ukraine, which was never part of Poland. There still is, however, a Polish community in Kropyvnitsky and they do great work in Szymanowski’s memory. A school stands on the site of the family home overlooking the staw into which the red army terrorists purportedly threw the piano. I’ve spent much time in the area playing Szymanowski’s music inter alia.
Untruth! Tymoszówka district had belonged to Poland till the 2nd Partition of Poland in 1793
This is skewed thinking.
The music of Rachmaninoff, Glinka. Borodin, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Scriabin et.al. has nothing whatsoever to do with Putin’s despicable war of aggression against Ukraine..
Don’t ban long dead Russian composers. Ban current day Russian musicians who refuse to condemn this hideous war.
So unbelievably moronic. Yes, let’s blame and silence the pens of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Glinka et al. to punish the sins of 21st century Russia. That’ll teach ‘em!
This is a very bad and stupid decision as music is above politics. These people have no idea about what is music.Ignorants take always stupid décisions
This is an altogether ill conceived decision. What’s next – a ban on Russian writers? The arts should not be politicized.
A university in Milan banned Dostoevsky for a semester.
Yes, Dostoevsky, who was exiled and sent to prison for his anti-tsarist views.
This reminds me of the Beyond the Fringe parody of World War II movies, where Dudley Moore playd Myra Hess playing Beethoven and someone else says “The music you are listening to, Timothy, is German music, and we’re fighting the Germans. That’s something you are going to have to work out later on.”
Except that was a comedy sketch, and even in a comedy sketch no one was so ridiculous as to suggest that German music should not be played while England was at war with the Germans. Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninoff or Prokofiev have nothing to do with this war and I find it hard to believe anyone seriously thinks so.
It’s actions like this that actually make me want to support Russia instead.
The Nazis loved Beethoven, Bruckner, Wagner, so
for the sake of argument, what would be the logical end here?
It is an unwise and unfair decision.
Bloody idiots!
During WW2, Jews in Palestine were playing Brahms, Schubert, Bach…
Russians in the siege of Leningrad read German philosophy…
Russian music belongs to the French, as much as it does to the Argentinian’s as much as it does to anyone who cares to play it or listen to it or love it.
Politicising art is anti-human and destroys the most beautiful part of humanity.
Cancel culture destroys culture and we need to rally against that!
For freedom of the arts.
This decision is beyond absurd and very sad. How are great Russian composers even remotely connected with current events?! If I were a contestant I would withdraw in protest. Shame on ignorant, bigoted organizers. Is Chopin still allowed? After all there is a good chance he was a homosexual and Poland is one of the most homophobic countries on record.
What a dumb decision. What exactly will banning Russian music from this competition solve? That’s right…nothing.
Music is one thing, but policies that lead to war are another. Two of the most important statesmen who formulated US policy toward Russia were Zbigniew Brzeziński (under Carter) and Madeline Albright (under Clinton.) Both came from families that fled Stalinism and both were fanatic Russophobes.
I find Russia’s invasion of Ukraine appalling and it fills me with anger, but I also see the 50 years of US geopolitical strategy that also contributed to this war. It stems from the same irrationality as banning Russian music. The principle US geopolitical goal in this war has been to isolate Russia in order to maintain US hegemony in Europe. From the US perspective, the war has been a total victory.
Putin made a huge strategic error when he invaded the Donbas in 2014. Russia’s connections to Europe were growing strongly until then, and especially with Germany, much to the chagrin of the US government. If Russia had continued on the path of European economic integration, it would have allowed Europe to become more autonomous which was a threat to US hegemony. That’s one of the foundational causes of this insane war. The US strategy was not too difficult since its not too hard to get Czechs and Poles to hate Russians. That animosity is understandable, but it can also lead to irrational foreign policy as Brzeziński and Albright illustrate. And then there’s Germany…..
Hear, hear! And where was the banning of American music and musicians when the Americans were busy invading Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan and also bombing Laos and Cambodia — whilst also invading Panama?
Ayatollahs, Fuhrers, and Mullahs used to silence music. They’d be pleased that their legacies live on.
Well said Andy!
Curious about the status of Rachmaninoff: is his music banned or to be considered ‘American’?
Why wasn’t Wagner’s music played in Israel for many years ?
My advice to all concerned, fragile democrats and Schöngeists: please exert pressure on your governments to send the badly needed arms to the Ukraine. After liberating Ukraine from their Russian murderers, let us declare the next year “A year of Russian music”. In the meantime: God save the Ukraine !
Can our world get any more stupid?!
Yes, we can!
Signor Direttore della Karol Szimanowski International Competition,
Mi permetta di dirglielo nella mia lingua madre: Lei è un idiota.
There must be another way to properly react to the Russian war of aggression than to ban Russian composers.
The late notice is awkward but otherwise… this is only temporary and the day will come when Russian culture can be welcomed back among civilized people.
Until then, there is lots of culture that can be experienced besides the Russian washorses. Use this as reminder to give other options a look.
Is anyone going to tell them Tchaikovsky was ethnically Ukrainian and Shostakovich was ethnically Polish? What an ignorant gesture.
What harm did Afghanistan do to Ukraine, that they joined NATO forces to go, kill Afghans? NATO should be disbanded; it’s a perpetual war machine. It is a threat to world peace.
This is an utterly stupid and loathsome decision. A little education would reveal that the main composers who are likely to be on the hit list -Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Shostakovich – all suffered at the hands of oppressive Russian authorities and, therefore, their lives and music have much to teach us in all countries. Keep politics out of music!
This sounds so provincial in its petty irrelevant revenge against long dead composers who don’t care. And those people who are waging the war don’t care either, at all. I suppose a member of the honorary committee Simon Rattle is refraining from conducting Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninoff any time soon, and another honorary committee member Piotr Beczala has already repented for his singing in Onegin, Iolanta and whatever else he sang from that part of the music world.
I bet this ban was forced upon the competition organisers by the ministry of culture. This is a public-funded competition, and the ultra-right government likes to steer cultural policies by hand. At short notice.
I completely agree with this decision. We all should use every possible way of communicating disgust with Russian criminal savagery in Ukraine. Let the Russian people know their leaders are removing them from human civilization. Everything Russian has become sickening.