Those who are not fans of the original Star Trek do not realize what a gift to our society that show was. It gave us our first interracial kiss on TV (Plato’s Stepchildren), a searing look at racism (Let That Be Your Last Battlefield), and profound episodes dealing with what it means to be “human” (Miri, Amok Time, Turnabout Intruder, The Corbomite Maneuver, and a host of others). But my favorite episode has always been “The Conscience of the King,” a terrific look at the aftereffects of dictatorship/fascism on society and on individual lives, with a little Hamlet thrown in for good measure. Some of my colleagues should sit down and watch this.
Two conductors of note have been in the news lately, and not for their performances. Valery Gergiev has taken sustained heat for being in the pocket of Vladimir Putin, mainly because of the recent anti-gay laws passed in Russia by Putin’s government. On the other side of the globe Gabriela Montero has taken Gustavo Dudamel to task for performing in his native Venezuela, a country beset by a government intent on subjugating the populace by any means necessary, whether that be by propaganda or outright force.
It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me that I am appalled by the actions of both of these governments. The actions of the Russian government seem to me to be nothing more than blatant homophobia, while the actions of the government of Venezuela are profoundly undemocratic and unethical. Either way, I could not in good conscience be associated with either of these governments or their actions.
But I also realize I have the advantage of kibitzing from the sidelines. These governments do not affect me directly, and it is only by several degrees of separation that they impact my life. Yet I have had the honor of working with conductors, true Maestros, who did feel the yoke of immoral governments around their necks. I remember a long conversation I had with Mstislav Rostropovich about Shostakovich and the Stalin regime, and so strong was Slava’s loathing of misinformation that I have never so much as picked up the book “Testimony.” Slava’s ghost would never forgive me if I did.
Similarly, through a long and amazing mentorship with Daniel Barenboim the subject of politics came up a couple of times. It is not that we were unaware of the issue, it is just that we mostly discussed music. However, there came a time when I felt I must say something to him. It was around 1999, and Daniel had inserted himself into the Palestinian/Israeli conflict in the way only he could. I felt I needed to warn him, not about the Palestinians, but about his own people. Perhaps it was an American point of view, but I felt it necessary to ask him to be careful, since prophets are most often harmed by their own people. I admit that I also had the memory of Yitzhak Rabin in mind.
And what of Leonard Bernstein? He was not afraid of using his position as America’s preeminent Maestro to speak out on the topics of the day, whether that be politics, racism, sexism, or whatever. Whatever you think of his musicianship his words paint a person of character committed to the cause of progress for all of humanity.
Yet, as we watch Gergiev twist in the Russian wind, and Dudamel’s PR handlers put out the blandest of responses, I can’t help but think that the age of the ‘Maestro as moral leader’ will die with Daniel Barenboim. Perhaps it is that some people need to have their lives completely upended to find the courage to speak out against injustice, for themselves and for others. Certainly I cannot imagine either Lenny or Slava doing anything but objecting publicly, and in the strongest possible terms, to the bigotry displayed by the Russian government, and whatever artistic positions of import they might occupy be damned. I also doubt that the brutal suppression of the people by the government of Venezuela would sit well with them either.
No, I do not wish either Gergiev or Dudamel any ill. But these two are now powerful kings of the music world, and if I could ask them a question it would be – how is your conscience? How do you sleep at night, knowing what is happening to your own people? I’m sorry, but your music does not exist in a moral vacuum. Bland pronouncements of brotherhood are insufficient in the face of that which is morally reprehensible. For God’s sake, take a stand. Speak out. Else one day you shall be like that other Shakespearean king and be forced to ask:
Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the green one red.
Words for thought, Bill. Thank you for your thoughts. This is a very complex time. I think your take on Berenboim is a very good one. Keep up the good work and the good word. We need more arts leaders and thinkers like you.
Nice (:-)
Who do they sleep at night?
“. . . in a great big bed made of money.”
As always, Bill, this article is thoughtful and well written. But, you raise two questions. Your comment about “Testimony” leads me to ask how several prominent musicians, such as André Previn and Yehudi Menuhin can praise the book. Vladimir Ashkenazy wrote a new forward, in which he quotes Rudolf Barshai, who called the book “100 percent correct.” Even Rostropovich has been cited as backing Testimony’s general sentiment, though not accepting it as ‘absolute truth.’ So, what is the truth?
My second question pertains to the role of the conductor (or any artist) when confronted with the moral dilemmas you presented. Is Gergiev’s relationship with Putin any different than many German conductors with Hitler and the Nazis? Böhm, Knapperstbusch, and von Karajan either worked with or joined the Nazi party. Furtwängler, Barenboim’s idol, was against the regime but remained in Germany. While dangerous, is it not more effective to work from within? Is Dudamel’s visiting his country of Venezuela an acceptance of the government’s policies? He has helped build and support El Sistema, one of the greatest vehicles for social and economic change in that country. The majority of those being beaten and killed are students. Dudamel’s absence would not alter the government’s repressive actions, and his presence can only serve to support, even if tacitly, those he has mentored. Speaking out publicly would endanger those students and teachers.
Leonard Bernstein, whom I consider the greatest musician this country has ever produced, said in response to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Jr.: “This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.” In times of crisis, is that not the most effective role of any musician?
Leonard Bernstein, whom I consider the greatest musician this country has ever produced, said in response to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Jr.: “This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.” In times of crisis, is that not the most effective role of any musician?
That, of course, should have read.
“HOW do they sleep at night. . . ”
Very, very tired. Back to Brahms.
“How is your conscience?” is your all-time best question. Not rhetorical, rather, one of the 21st century’s biggest issues now that the big donors are playing for keeps. I framed the question of conscience as the principle motif and operational mechanism in my novel, Dismissed, published last year, a year of turmoil for me.
Such a strange sad situation. Budgets brimming with surpluses, buildings endowed, auditorium sold out for months, yet the ‘conscience of the king’ is seriously challenged. As fast as money comes in, slaves are discharged and replaced by others. A hundred full time faculty terminated, wrongfully, in just a few years. I call the very full suit in charge the Terminator but Interlochen students call him Humpty Dumpty. In five years, two academy orchestra conductors fired, one fled. A long-time faculty member calls it a climate of fear. Is there room for one more at the top beside the powerful kings of the music world? Humpty’s ready.
Your writing is wise, humble– quite extraordinary, the courage of a novelist. I admire anyone who speaks out against injustice as you did here and often do on FB, but such courage combined with the spirits of Euterpe and Clio leave me in awe.