The Classical Principle Weekly
July 25, 2023
A Concert for Peace
On August 6, 2023 at 6PM, the Foundation for Classical Culture is participating in a much-needed “Concert for Peace” of Mozart’s Requiem and other songs in New York City, at the All-Souls Church, at a time of increasing danger of nuclear war.
There is a great precedent for this by one of 20th century's finest musicians and human beings, Pablo Casals (we wrote about him last week in the essay on Bach). Casals' opposition to fascism was so strong, that at the height of his career (and he was the world’s most revered cellist in the 20th century), he protested the Allies' support for the Franco regime in his native home of Spain by refusing to ever perform publically until Spain renounces Fascism.
He did make a few exceptions, and one of them was at the United Nations. During the summer of 1958, Pablo Casals added his voice together with that of the legendary Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) in a manifesto calling on the Russian and American leaders to halt the arms race and nuclear testing.
Shortly afterwards, Don Pablo was invited by Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld to perform in a concert commemorating the 13th Anniversary of the United Nations in New York. Don Casals, who maintained his protest of not playing in Allied countries because of the continuation of Franco’s dictatorship in Spain, accepted the invitation because the headquarters of the United Nations was considered neutral international ground. Casals had, at that point, not played in the United States for thirty years.
A message given to the press by Casals on October 24th, 1958, included:
“....The anguish of the world caused by nuclear danger is increasing every day. All realize the horrifying consequences of a nuclear war....how I wish that there could be a tremendous movement of protest in all countries, and especially from the mothers, that would impress those that have the power to prevent this catastrophe.
“... Music, this marvellous universal language understood by everyone, everywhere, ought to be a source of better communication among men. This is why I make a special appeal to my fellow at the service of mankind...musicians everywhere, asking each to put the purity of his art at the service of mankind, in order to unite all people in fraternal ties.
“The Hymn to Joy of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony has become a symbol of love. And I propose that every town that has an orchestra and chorus perform it on the same day, and have it transmitted by radio to the smallest communities and to all corners of the world, and to perform it as another prayer through music for the Peace that we all desire and work for.
August 24th 1958.”
It did not work out quite that way. Instead, a full two days of music, by many musicians, celebrating the 13th anniversary of the UN, were held in Geneva, Paris, and New York. The two day concert culminated with a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony conducted by Ernest Ansermet and L'orchestre de la Suisse Romande. The entire concert, plus Casals' message, was broadcast simultaneously to Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Columbia, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, El Salvador, Finland, France Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, the USSR, Tunisia, the UK, USA, Uruguay and Yugoslavia. Delayed broadcasts took place in Australia, Albania, Ghana, Ceylon, Greece, India, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Monaco, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Portugal, Philippines, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, South Africa, and 14 republics of Latin America, for a total of 75 stations in 5 continents.
All of the recordings can be heard at the United Nations Audio-Visual Library. They are for listening only. So we cannot give you a link. Here however is a link to a later performance of the Ode to Joy movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony by Maestro Ansermet and his orchestra. It is quite good.
The second time Pablo Casals went to the United Nations was in 1963, when the then Secretary-General of the United Nations, U Thant, invited him to its New York headquarters to conduct his oratorio “El Pessebre” (The Manger) with the Casals Festival Orchestra and Cleveland Orchestra Choir. Secretary-General U-Thant described him as “a musical giant of this century” and “a renowned figure throughout the world as a champion of peace and human rights”. Don Pablo said in 1963:
"The most powerful nations have a duty and responsibility to keep the peace. It is my deep conviction that the great masses in these countries want the understanding and mutual cooperation of their fellow men. It is for the governments and those in power to see to it that the achievement of this desire will not become impossible. The United Nations today represents the most important hope for peace. Let us give it all the power to act for our benefit.
“Music, that wonderful universal language, should be a source of communication among men. I once again exhort my fellow musicians throughout the world to put the purity of their art at the service of mankind in order to unite people in fraternal ties. With this objective in mind, I consider it my duty to offer my humble contribution in the form of a personal crusade. Let each of us contribute as one can until this ideal is attained in all its glory; and let us unify our fervent prayers that in the near future all humanity may be joined in a spiritual embrace." Pablo Casals at the UN.
Casals' compositions should not be brushed off. Here is an excerpt, "Els reis Mags", from the 90 minutes long “El Pessebre”. You can hear the main theme of the fourth movement of Mozart's highly contrapuntal "Jupiter Symphony" (No. 41) in it.
Here is his “Nigra Sum” from the “Song of Solomon”: “I am black but comely Oh ye daughters of Jerusalem" (or I am black and comely). Casals composed it in 1942 to refer to an end of colonization.
Some thought that Casals was naive, but his stature as a musician and as a principled human being was such that it lent tremendous stature to all that he undertook.
CONCERT for PEACE in NY:
One of the other occasions that Pablo Casals made an exception for was November 13, 1961, when he performed at the Kennedy White House. Certainly, he and JFK were aligned on the issue of democracy, culture, and peace. On June 10, 1963, John F. Kennedy made a speech at Washington D.C.’s American University, eight months after the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The world had just barely avoided destroying itself in a thermonuclear war. Kennedy said then:
“What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children—not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women—not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.”
Full video: https://youtu.be/0fkKnfk4k40
Full text of speech: https://www.jfklibrary.org/.../american-university-19630610
A few months later on November 22, 1963, JFK had been assassinated. Pablo Casals was unspeakably devastated upon hearing the news. He said:
“I have seen much of suffering and death in my lifetime, but I have never lived through a more terrible moment. For hours I could not speak. It was as if a beautiful and irreplaceable part of the world had suddenly been torn away.”
Close to 90 years of age at that point, he pounders further on the ceaseless cause and effects of events, and the what/if’s of human history:
“Who knows what might have happened had President Kennedy lived? No single man, of course, controls the fate of all nations, and yet during his brief time as President one felt how his hand moved to heal the wounds and conflicts of the world. What savage strife we have witnessed since his death! Had he not died, how many of those who have perished in the towns and jungles of Vietnam might also be alive?”
60 years later today, it’s worthwhile to ponder what responsibilities we have as individual human beings to society and future. As Pablo Casals said so eloquently, “I do not feel--nor have I ever felt--that music, or any form of art, can be an answer in itself. Music must serve a purpose; it must be a part of something larger than itself, a part of humanity. A musician is also a man, and more important than his music is his attitude toward life. Nor can the two be separated."
It’s for these reasons that our foundation join Humanity for Peace on August 6th, to commemorate those who should not have lost their lives that day, 78 years ago. We wish to remind humanity that "a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought." We will join with others worldwide, who are holding rallies, vigils, musical tributes, poetry readings, and other activities that day, to insist on peace, and demonstrate how to end the escalating danger of nuclear war.
Now is the time to act on President Kennedy’s prophetic words: “Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind.”
The Requiem will be conducted by renowned Maestro Gürer Aykal, the Permanent Conductor and General Music Director of Borusan İstanbul Philharmonic Orchestra, and professor emeritus and former conductor of El Paso, Texas Symphony Orchestra.
Attendance: the concert is free and open to the public, first come, first served. Free-will donations welcomed to defray costs. https://www.eventbrite.com/.../humanity-for-peace-concert...