The Kyiv Symphony Orchestra fights on the war's 'cultural front'
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense granted special permission for the male musicians to leave the country, calculating that the world will be more motivated to protect Ukraine if it sees its culture as something precious and worth saving.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24, the musicians of the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra scattered, sheltering wherever they could. According to conductor Luigi Gaggero, it was a frightening time.
“I was in contact with many of them and would get this answer: ‘Sorry, Luigi, can you call me in one hour? They are bombing now, so I want to speak a little bit later,’” he said. “And so on and so on. And you think, let's hope that this evening they are still alive.”
When they finally reunited to rehearse, Gaggero was overjoyed to see them — but didn’t have very high expectations, musically speaking, because they’d all had more important things to do than practice. But the orchestra surprised him.
“Precisely because of this situation, the energy — because they were missing, not only their job, they were missing the existential reason of their lives,” he said. “So, music for musicians is like the air we breathe and so, again, everybody was breathing again, and that was unbelievable.”
Just one month later, the orchestra was mobilizing to go on tour on a mission of cultural diplomacy: cultural emissaries in a war that is playing out on more than just physical front lines. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense granted special permission for the male musicians to leave the country, calculating that the world will be more motivated to protect Ukraine if it sees its culture as something precious and worth saving.
Listen at The World.