The 2023 Beethoven Prize for human rights has been awarded to the Latvian violinist and ensemble leader Gidon Kremer.
Kremer, 76, has been outspoken in his opposition to Russia’s wars of aggression in Chechnya and Ukraine. He has also played in jails and other places of despair.
The award, worth 10,000 Euros, is given by the Beethoven Academy in Bad Honnef.
Past winners include Maria João Pires (2021), Igor Levit (2019) and Gabriela Montero (2018).
Photo of Gidon Kremer taken during his performance of “Preludes to a Lost Time,” at Pacific Institution Regional Treatment Centre, Abbotsford, BC on January 29, 2020.
Our extraordinary team of international artists and technicians travelled to Izium, Ukraine, to record an open air performance of classical music as a gift to honour the dead and inspire the living. A stunning white grand piano is a beacon in the grey anguish of this ravaged landscape. The scarred earth is a bleak reminder of the russian invader’s attempt to subjugate the Ukrainian people. Yet Ukraine remains steadfast in their resistance.
The beautiful white grand piano did not survive the production. Moisture took its toll, as you can hear during the final musical sequences. Overcome by the pathos of the moment, the piano gave up its spirit and died. Yet the spirit of the piano lives on in this phenomenal recording of a celebration of the Ukrainian people’s courage and commitment.
Sponsored and organized by Looking at the Stars Foundation – a Canadian federal charity. (www.lookingatthestars.org) with invaluable support from All-Ukrainian Forum for Democracy (DEMFORUM) https://demforum.org/en/
We are continuing our work with Ukrainian refugees in Eastern Canada. On June 10 and 11 Peter Lambert will be moderating two concerts in Halifax and Moncton respectively (pianists Walter Delahunt and Anna Sagalova will present the program of western and Ukrainian composers).
The third concert of the series will take place at Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto on June 12, 2023.
https://holyblossom.org/event/mondays-in-the-mishkan-2/
About 100 Ukrainian refugees (some with small children) arrived in St. Andrew’s Church in Halifax this evening to enjoy the music of Bach and Chopin, gifted by the Looking at the Stars foundation.
A short presentation about our Ukrainian projects and a demo of “Chopin in Irpin” trailer was immediately followed by a Ukrainian national anthem sung emotionally and enthusiastically by everyone in the beautiful hall.
Then for about one hour one could hear the pin drop and dozens of hearts beat during the brilliant performance of the pianist Walter Delahunt.
A wonderful and grateful audience. A deeply emotional and successful event – to be remembered.
Special thanks to Peter J Lambert for moderating it, to Polina Kogan for organizing it , to Mychol Scully and Derek St. Dennis for technically supporting it.
We agreed to return to Halifax next Spring.
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