Today's Fredlines: April 27, 2009 Archive

The Zimerman Controversy

Posted at 6:43 PM on April 27, 2009 by Fred Child (11 Comments)

Polish pianist Kystian Zimerman has had a troubled North American tour this spring. And now he's created the biggest classical music controversy of the season.

Due to illness (according to official statements), Zimerman cancelled major solo concerts in Boston, Cleveland, New York, and Philadelphia. He played in Seattle last week, although he told the Seattle Times he was sick of toting his piano around the U.S., and because of that "this is my last concert tour of America for a very long time."

He expanded on that comment rather dramatically on Sunday night at Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles.

Mark Swed posted a quick review of Zimerman's concert for the LA Times:

Before playing the final work on his recital...Zimerman sat silently at the piano for a moment, almost began to play, but then turned to the audience. In a quiet but angry voice that did not project well, he indicated that he could no longer play in a country whose military wants to control the whole world.

"Get your hands off of my country," he said. He also made reference to the U.S. military detention camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

About 30 or 40 people in the audience walked out, some shouting obscenities. "Yes," he answered, "some people when they hear the word military start marching."

Others remained but booed or yelled for him to shut up and play the piano. But many more cheered. Zimerman responded by saying that America has far finer things to export than the military, and he thanked those who support democracy.

In a follow-up Monday, Swed wrote:

I hope Zimerman reconsiders his U.S. embargo. He has, of course, angered some Americans. But our country is precisely the place where politics are not outlawed from the concert hall.

Swed's original review has received a torrent of comments, 280 at last count. Ranging from "he was right, the truth hurts" to "If you dont like our Country stay out and dont come back."

Btw...we'd play the audio for you on Performance Today, but Zimerman had all the microphones removed from the Disney Hall stage. There is no (legal) recording. No bootlegs have surfaced yet, either.

Classical concert halls tend to be genteel, decidedly (perhaps purposefully) non-political venues. But there is some similar recent history. In March of 2003, conductor Gerd Albrecht was conducting the Danish Radio Symphony in Copenhagen. Between pieces, he spoke to the audience, and denounced what was (at the time) the new war in Iraq, and the Danish Parliament's vote to support it. Albrecht said "Shall musicians always be silent? The answer is no. I would like to protest against the Danish government, which supports the U.S.'s bombing attacks against Iraq." According to reports, some audience members and even members of the orchestra walked out in disgust at Albrecht's remarks. And the audience who remained didn't applaud at the end of the concert. Albrecht later apologized.

Jordi Savall, founder and director of the great early music ensemble Hesperion XXI, hasn't (to my knowledge) spoken on stage, but he did cancel an American tour in 2003, after the Iraq war began. A press release from his US publicist that year said "Mr. Savall feels that under the current situation, he and others in the ensemble have a strong moral dilemma about touring the United States."

Love to hear your thoughts on this, of course...and sate yourself with these comments to Mark Swed's initial review.

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