Still united with Ukraine: A Concert for Peace

BY THE FORMER CONDUCTOR OF THE MOSCOW SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND PRISMA ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Five months into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, some locals are still paying close attention: those with family, friends & colleagues there. Here, qL catches up with those who shared their stories in April’s issue.

St. Nectaire, France – July 22

Tonight I’ll conduct a concert for peace in the heart of the Puy de Dôme in France. There is an honest longing for peace within most of us.

Why then this war?

Why this interest in more power and more money? In the shade of a majestic French oak tree I have been reading Red Notice and Freezing Order by Bill Browder, who is hunted by the Russian regime for revealing corruption that leads directly to Putin. The books read like thrillers, but are based on truth and facts, and show how money and power steer a few on our planet to incomprehensible decisions.

I talked to Putin once at a Dutch state dinner. During my conversation with him, he was ice-cold and disengaged, leaving me with the impression of someone with a hidden agenda – clearly, his mind was on “bigger things’ than arts and music. Gergiev, the Russian conductor who recently lost his job and his management for not condemning the war, was, even then, glued to Putin’s side.

I have been “smuggling” hundreds of pictures of manuscripts of never performed symphonies by Alexander Mosolov out of Russia (the librarian willingly looked the other way, knowing this music deserves to sound). In 1937 Mosolov was sentenced to the GU- LAG by Stalin. Why? He was supposedly an enemy of the state (he was an eccentric man). Not much has changed in Russia, I learn from under the oak tree.

The Mosolov project came to a temporary halt after my resignation from the Moscow Symphony Orchestra. However, project team is planning to continue the series with an orchestra from Ukraine. After all Mosolov was born in Kyiv. We are excited to provide work for Ukraine musicians in the near future.

But first, a concert for peace here in France, tonight.