Berlin (dpa) – At a solidarity concert for Ukraine in the Berlin Philharmonic, Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth referred to the power of culture. “Music is the most effective, the most radical contradiction to war,” said the Green politician on Tuesday, to sustained applause from the audience. “We must contradict this deadly, this unbounded madness, as loudly and as audibly as humanly possible.”
“Precisely because we cannot stop the aggressor, because we cannot stop Putin, because we have no means of ending this criminal war in Ukraine right now, we need these widely audible signs of solidarity with the Ukrainians,” said Roth. At the same time, she emphasized: “We will not stop listening to Tchaikovsky and reading Chekhov. I do not want to imagine a world without Russian culture, without Ukrainian culture, without our culture and therefore I oppose everyone who tries to turn to culture exploit it or boycott it. It’s the culture that makes us human.”
The concert included violinist Lisa Batiashvili, tenor Rolando Villazón and pianist Kirill Gerstein. Alan Gilbert conducted the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and the Rundfunkchor Berlin. All those involved had waived their fees in favor of aid alliances.
Gilbert said: “As a human being I find it tragic that we have to do this concert. It is a response to Russia’s brutal actions in Ukraine.”
Villazón thanked the audience, who had paid 25 euros for the sold-out concert. “We are a very dangerous species for our planet,” Villazón said. “Right now in Ukraine, the worst comes from a person, not from a monster, not from a natural disaster, it comes from the people,” he said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. That’s why it’s important “to try to give help with love and art”. But this is not enough. Everyone has to keep asking themselves, “What more can I do?” Every little thing counts, emphasized Villazón.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:220315-99-535800/2
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