Nothing but malice, unchecked egoism, rawness...


German violinist Christian Tetzlaff has explained his decision to cancel his American concerts saying "I feel utter anger. I cannot go on with this feeling inside. I cannot just go and play a tour of beautiful concerts". Tezlaff then goes on to express a sentiment that many of us share: "There seems to be a quietness or denial about what’s going on". This prompted a post by the ever-wise Alex Ross headlined The Spirit of Casals. Which in turn prompted me to reread articles I wrote many years ago after visiting Casals' beloved Catalonia. These reminded me that Casals' wisdom is still as painfully relevant today as it was when he was railing against Franco's authoritarian regime. Here is one example of that wisdom:

Music must serve a purpose; it must be a part of something larger than itself, a part of humanity; and that, indeed, is at the core of my argument with music today - its lack of humanity. A musician is also a man, and more important than his music is his attitude towards life. Nor can the two be separated.

Classical musicians must continue to tour, concerts must still delight audiences, and musical life must continue in America. Or, as Steve Earle once explained: "Michelangelo didn't love the pope's politics, he just needed a ceiling to paint. Artists will do what they can to make a living and get their art out there". But, despite that truism, the puzzling quietness and denial by classical musicians about the frightening political developments in America do their great art form no justice, and the lambasting of those musicians who dare to speak out is deeply disturbing. In fact Tesla owners are expressing more anger than the classical community. 

As in everything. there is a middle road to highlighting disquiet about what Alex Ross describes as a criminal authoritarian regime. I will let Pau Casals have the last word. The following is him speaking at the time of the Spanish Civil war, but it could be a response to Christian Tetzlaff's lament about the classical community's acquiescence: 

I am repelled by the indifference of a number of countries which contemplate with inner composure and from the purest egoism things that cry out in outrage and shame. Is this the result of so many churches and universities, of all of science, discoveries, and philosophy? ... Religion, love for one's fellow men, respect dignity, goodness - all of them are mere words ... Nothing but malice, unchecked egoism, rawness... 

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