Melbourne Symphony Orchestra cancels pianist’s performance after dedication to journalists killed in Gaza

Even the Israeli government pretends to be sad that journalists die covering wars. They’re more extreme than this?

They are terrified of repercussions from the US.

Because once that door swings open a little bit... who knows what might bear some scrutiny?

Who made the clothes you're wearing? Or your phone? Were they a slave? A child? Are they even still alive, or do they have cancer because of the factory where they worked? Do their parents miss them, if they're gone?

What happened to make the chicken sandwich you had at lunch? Are you complicit in slow torture unto death, just by existing in the modern world?

Better to keep the door shut tight, and attack the messenger if anyone has anything to say about it. We're just making music here. No torture, no killing, no profit from the destruction of lives. Just music! Trust me. Enjoy.

(I don't think most people are like this. I actually think most people in the West at this point are against the "war" in Gaza, to at least some tepidly inactive degree. But certainly, also, a lot of people aren't against it, q.v. this article.)

Do you go to see the Melbourne symphony orchestra often?

The article quotes him saying more:

The five-minute piece is dedicated to the journalists of Gaza and was written for Gillham, according to D’Netto’s website. On Wednesday morning, Gillham’s team released the full transcript of what he said while introducing Witness.

“Over the last 10 months, Israel has killed more than one hundred Palestinian journalists,” Gillham told the crowd on Sunday.

“A number of these have been targeted assassinations of prominent journalists as they were travelling in marked press vehicles or wearing their press jackets. The killing of journalists is a war crime in international law, and it is done in an effort to prevent the documentation and broadcasting of war crimes to the world.

“In addition to the role of journalists who bear witness, the word Witness in Arabic is Shaheed, which also means Martyr.”

Nah it wouldn't be that, those sorts of land acknowledgements are very common in Melbourne, especially in the Arts, that would have been perceived as utterly uncontroversial by the MSO

He was cancelled for calling Aboriginal people victims of settler-colonialism in Australia

Extremely unlikely. Australia's colonial history and its impact on Indigenous Australians is a very common theme in modern Australian classical music and many concerts I have been to, including one just the other week, have conductors or soloists introduce the piece and specifically cite the context behind it. Unless the MSO is significantly different (which it doesn't appear to be, based on some quick searches of Indigenous-themed concerts) this is not the reason. It was his comments about Israel targeting and killing journalists (what you quoted is not the actual introduction he made at the concert) which led to the cancellation.

This is absolutely untrue.

He probably did say this, but he was cancelled because of his comments about israel.

Truth is treason in the empire of lies

People who don't want you to know that Israel is slaughtering everything in Gaza

Ain't it great to see US political leadership tuck their dicks for Israel after IDF slaughter US nationals in west bank or Gaza?

MoSt PoWERFuL CuNTrY

Because everyone knows who is killing journalists in Gaza

it was pretty specific if you read the article

It wasn't actually that broad, he specifically mentioned that Israeli armed forces have targeted and killed journalists in Gaza.

He accused Israel of committing war crimes.

it made "an error"

spineless cunts

Pussies twice over.

He provided context as to why that piece would be performed. I don't think he went over the top at all.

Oh, the IOF said it? Must be true 😂. The only thing they say concretely and sourced in the article is that he worked at a "pro Hamas" media outlet (can't speak to this claim, but remember all the other things the IOF has claimed are Hamas), and that he wrote a piece for Al Jazeera.

Disregarding all that. Assuming that this guy was a journalist who was also a gun carrying member of Hamas and held actual hostages in his house, does that say anything about the record number of journalists that have been assasinated by the IOF?

I think it pretty clearly doesn't.

Isn't the point of protest to not let people forget about things? How easy would it be in the west to not notice, the media certainly isn't keeping up on it. Every time I see one of these I think, that's a braver person than me, and thank fucking god for the Streisand effect. No downvote, but strong disagree.

People pay to see and enjoy listening to a symphony, not listen to political opinion.

I guess you don't attend classic concerts often? It is very standard for conductors or soloists to introduce modern pieces and discuss their sociopolitical relevance. I literally just went to one the other week where the director of The King's College Cambridge Choir introduced a piece about the massacre, dispossession and forced assimilation of Indigenous Australians.

Tell me, when was the last time you went to a concert?

Because you should know, it's very common for someone to talk a little before the concert or before the piece about the piece itself, what inspired it, how it fits into the programme, etc.

That's what he did here. He explained what inspired the writing of this piece. No different to a conductor explaining that Shostakovich's 7th Symphony was dedicated to the city of Leningrad, which at the time it was premiered was being besieged by the Nazis. Or explaining how his 9th Symphony was a deliberate mockery of earlier composers' grand 9th symphonies, as a way to subvert expectations placed on him by Stalin's regime. Or how Beethoven's 3rd Symphony was written at first in honour of Napoleon, and then later changed to "celebrate the memory of a great man" after Napoleon went against Beethoven's republican idealism and crowned himself emperor.

Music has always been political, and in modern times no concert is complete without at least some discussion about the context in which the piece was written. That should be as true for a piece written to commemorate victims of a modern-day war as it is for mid-20th century or early 19th century pieces.

WDYT about this bit of the article?

Gillham also performed a song by György Ligeti, where the pianist had noted Ligeti was from a Holocaust-surviving family and he spoke about the political background of the piece.

It is widely acknowledged that external international pressure was one of the major factors in ending the apartheid regime. Therefore, it’s worth considering the impact of raising awareness among international audiences, even those not politically engaged, to put pressure on Israel to end their genocide.

On one hand, you have the discomfort felt by attendees to a live symphony performance in Melbourne, Australia having to listen to the pianist spend 30 seconds introducing the song:

Over the last 10 months, Israel has killed more than one hundred Palestinian journalists. A number of these have been targeted assassinations of prominent journalists as they were travelling in marked press vehicles or wearing their press jackets. The killing of journalists is a war crime in international law, and it is done in an effort to prevent the documentation and broadcasting of war crimes to the world.

In addition to the role of journalists who bear witness, the word Witness in Arabic is **Shaheed, which also means Martyr.

On the other hand, you have the discomfort felt by the victims of war crimes and genocide perpetuated by Israel.

Personally, I don’t think it’s that hard to judge where the cost/benefit analysis goes on that, but of course it’s a personal value judgment. Perhaps you don’t hold the same values I do, or not to the same degree, but for me, it’s obvious that using your platform to raise awareness and to put pressure on Israel is the right thing to do.

people need a bread from the negativity

Freudian typo: as long as people have "bread and circuses" it's surprising what you can get away with.