String players in winter coats, horn players with baseball caps and down hoods, a conductor with a turtleneck and beret: the procession of the Kyiv Classic Orchestra did not correspond to the normal working clothes that orchestra musicians commonly wear when performing. But the short concert that the ensemble played on Wednesday afternoon on the Maidan in Kyivwas not normal either, and not just because the temperatures were hovering around freezing point: Ukraine is at war, Russian troops are preparing to storm the capital just a few kilometers away, the square where the Independence Monument and the musicians are now standing at his feet, is sealed off with anti-tank barriers.
The Kyiv Classic Orchestra plays under the motto “Free Sky” at temperatures around freezing point in front of the Independence Monument in Kyiv.
(Photo: Youtube/Screenshot/Suspilne)
In this setting, the orchestra naturally did not want to appear like the legendary orchestra of the titanic, which played until the proverbial doom. The musicians wanted to set a sign of resilience, call for peace – and send a political signal abroad. “Free Sky” was the title of the performance, which was broadcast live on television, by the conductor, orchestra founder and “UNESCO Peace Artist” Herman Makarenko. With the demand for a free and, above all, safe sky, Makarenko and the musicians now wanted to encourage the international community to force the closure of Ukrainian airspace in order to ban the danger from Russian warplanes. Such a step could save the Ukrainians suffering, but it also harbors major risks: An intervention by NATO, for example, could quickly turn the conflict, which has so far been limited to Ukraine, into a war that can no longer be controlled.
A bassist in front of the anti-tank obstacles in the center of Kiev.
(Photo: Gleb Garanich/Reuters)
However, as if to emphasize the conductor’s concern, the air raid sirens reportedly blared just before Makarenko raised the baton. Then the Ukrainian national anthem was played, followed by Ukrainian folk songs and fragments of operas by local composers. The orchestra concluded its performance with a musical tribute to Europe. The EU anthem, Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”, was sung in the center of the country which, in the midst of the war, has now applied for membership of the European Union.