Renowned musicians are collecting donations for humanitarian aid in Gaza at the Himmelfahrtskirche in Munich. The concert is also intended to send a signal against the silence of the classical music scene on Israel’s war.
In contrast to the club scene, for example, the classical music scene is largely silent on the Gaza war. A counter-example is the collective “Make Freedom Ring”, which has organised benefit concerts for Gaza emergency aid in London, Manchester and Berlin since March. On Tuesday, the fourth concert will take place in the Himmelfahrtskirche in Munich, with the revenues going to the Frankfurt-based aid organisation medico international.
The collective is inspired by the American bass-baritone, actor and civil rights activist Paul Robeson, who died in 1976 and who once emphasised the power of music to unite people in their commitment to freedom and justice. The quote “Make Freedom Ring” is borrowed from the famous speech “I have a dream” by US civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.
“Our industry has shown incredible spirit through crises in the past and it must do so again now”, explain the members of “Make Freedom Ring” about their initiative to mark the Gaza war. The concerts are also intended to send a signal against the censorship of pro-Palestinian voices in the arts, according to the collective’s self-promotion.
The concert programme in Munich covers eras from baroque to modern, including soloists and small ensembles. Most of the performers are German, the best-known being violinist Ingolf Turban, cellist Wen-Sinn Yang and harpsichordist and pianist Christine Schornsheim, all of whom are professors at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich.
The 15 participants also include the Georgian violinists Veriko and Sofiko Tchumburidze and the Cuban violinist Jenny Peña Campo. Cellist Kristin von der Goltz, professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich, and Johannes König, principal violinist of the symphony orchestra in the Bavarian capital, will conduct the concert.
“We are organising this concert out of the deepest sorrow for the unbelievable number of fates of people who have nowhere to turn for protection,” von der Goltz told “nd”. With the event, König wants to send a signal to colleagues “to take a closer look at the serious human rights violations in Gaza and elsewhere”.
German violinist Michael Barenboim is also involved in the “Make Freedom Ring” collective and organised the benefit in Berlin; however, he is not part of the Munich event. In an interview with Bayerischer Rundfunk, he emphasised the importance of art as a platform for raising awareness of social and political problems. Barenboim also criticised the lack of attention paid to the “terrible situation in Gaza and in Palestine in general”.
Barenboim is one of the signatories of an open letter from academics in May of this year, which was directed against the police eviction of a pro-Palestinian protest camp on the grounds of the Free University of Berlin. The controversy surrounding the subsequent consideration of funding sanctions against the academics by the Ministry of Education continues.
The music event in the Himmelfahrtskirche on Tuesday will be hosted by Munich-based communication scientist and activist Kerem Schamberger. “With the concert, we also want to make it clear that Munich’s urban society stands in solidarity with the people in Gaza,” Schamberger told “nd”. Following the International Court of Justice’s judgement on Israel’s settlement policy, pressure must now be exerted for the government in Tel Aviv to comply with international law and end the occupation, he said.
Published in German in „nd“.
Image: Before the benefit in the Himmelfahrtskirche in Munich, “Make Freedom Ring” had already organised concerts for Gaza emergency aid in London, Manchester and Berlin. Michael Barenboim (left) was also involved (Neda Navaee).
