SHOULD I DENOUNCE ALL RUSSIAN MUSIC AND MUSICIANS BECAUSE OF THE UKRAINE WAR?

For those of you who are short of time, the quick answer is, “No!”

Nobody can deny that the world is in a bad place at the moment: wars, genocide, terrorism, recessions, loss of free speech, human rights violations, a potential climate crisis, mass disinformation, derailing of public services, loss of jobs, and much more. People are feeling triggered, polarised, beyond stressed and are living in a near-constant state of fear; and nowhere is this more prevalent than on social media. 

A while ago I shared a light-hearted post about peoples’ favourite pianists in a public Facebook piano group. Some members engaged happily and everything was fine until a member from the USA decided to go on a rant about now hating all Russian music and musicians, due to the Ukraine War. I replied that they were being short-sighted because there were many great Russian musicians currently speaking out against the War, and I asked them to take their divisive politics somewhere else. Whoa, big mistake! What followed was a tirade of fury, calling me disgraceful for saying what I did, and citing examples of how various Ukrainian musicians have been murdered cruelly by ‘the Russians’. Now, having Russian friends in the UK and knowing fully well that there were many good Russian members on that page, I had no choice but to delete the post (a quicker option than waiting for admin to intervene).

Perhaps I should have used a different turn of phrase - definitely! - but to be honest, generalised hatred and xenophobia always triggers and angers me. It did get me thinking though, about whether we should start dismissing and boycotting artists from a particular nation that just so happens to be at war and in conflict with others? It’s a valid question because there seem to be way too many people in our music industry demanding we do exactly that. And, for the record, I refuse to do this. At the same time, a lot of people are being coerced to promote particular narratives, mostly out of fear of being cancelled and/or losing their work. 

Let’s be very clear: the majority of the people on this planet want peace. The people creating, waging and fighting wars are mostly male world leaders; leaders that were frequently elected through deception, false promises, lies and sometimes force. No one of decent, sound character could possibly condone any form of violence towards another person, irrespective of the situation; and anyone who thinks otherwise should crawl back to their prehistoric cave. To blanket-hate all nationals, whether they are in their country or not, and who are not involved in a war, is just plain short-sighted, ignorant and stupid, especially if these nationals are speaking out against it. 

It’s the sanctimonious hypocrisy that really grates me. Should we suddenly start cancelling all German composers and musicians because of what the Nazis did in World War II? “Auf Wiedersehen Bach!” Should we cancel Gershwin and ban Aerosmith because of the countries that the United States Army has invaded?  And closer to home, should we blacklist Elgar or Radiohead, due to our own defence force’s involvement in the Iraq War (to name but one)? Sorry, I fail to see the logic.

Artists and musicians, hold a tremendous amount of influence in society, and celebrity musicians especially have a huge international reach. Should we really be promoting any narrative other than peace for all? And, in this world of misinformation - unless we’re living right in the centre of a conflict - do we really know what’s truly going on? (Anyone who has studied history knows all about propaganda and understands that there are many complicated sides to a story, ie. follow the money trail for the real truth.) 

I, for one, will continue to support, love and respect all my civilian Russian, Ukrainian, Israeli and Palestinian friends and colleagues, unless of course, they personally endorse violence and murder. Do you have the guts to stand up for your innocent friends when they are at the receiving end of hatred? I really do hope so!

Further Listening: 

Russian Piano Magic - Spotify Playlist

The great Russian pianist, Evgeny Kissin, who has frequently 

spoken out about the Ukraine War in interviews