Tchaikovsky

Cancellation of All Things Russian Hits Ludicrous Level With Dead Composers Getting Axed

To virtue signal against Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, many Americans, companies, and organizations have taken to cancelling anything or anyone with connections to Russia. Bars have stopped serving vodka. The Met got rid of a Russian opera singer. Now, an orchestra has cancelled Tchaikovsky.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky has been dead for over 128 years, but that doesn’t prevent him from being hit by Ukraine Justice Warriors at the Cardiff Philharmonic. They had an all-Tchaikovsky program planned for this week but have changed the program in light of the Russian invasion.

According to Classical-Music:

Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture was due to be included in the orchestra’s upcoming all-Tchaikovsky concert at St David’s Hall on 18 March, but it was considered by the orchestra ‘to be inappropriate at this time’.

The 1812 Overture was written to commemorate the successful Russian defence against Napoleon’s invasion in 1812, featuring cannon fire, chimes and a brass fanfare. The piece was due to be performed alongside another militaristic work by Tchaikovsky: his 1876 Marche slave, written to celebrate Russia’s involvement in the Serbian-Ottoman War. The composer’s Second Symphony was the final piece in the programme.

Anyone who thinks the actions of the Cardiff Philharmonic will help the people of Ukraine is an absolute idiot. Not a single person would have been offended if they played the music of one of the greatest composers of all time, Russian or not.