The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra said it was a “mistake” to cancel a performance by a renowned pianist who dedicated a piece to a journalist killed in Gaza.
Jason Gillham was due to perform Mozart and Brahms with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at Melbourne Town Hall on Thursday but was removed from the performance by the orchestra after he made “a series of introductory comments that went beyond the scope of his contract” at a previous performance.
The show was originally scheduled to go on without Gillham, but has now been canceled entirely due to safety concerns, the MSO confirmed on Thursday, with work in progress to reschedule Gillham’s appearance.
“The MSO acknowledges that it was a mistake to ask Jason to withdraw from the performance on Thursday, August 15,” the statement said. Event page“We are in constructive negotiations with Jason and his management and are exploring rescheduling the concert.”
The MSO maintains that “concert venues are not appropriate platforms for political statements” but said it acknowledged “Jason’s concerns about people in the Middle East and beyond.”
“We recognise the strong feelings of all parties in this matter and particularly appreciate the dedication and commitment shown by our musicians and staff this week,” the statement read.
In a statement on Thursday, Mr Gillham said he accepted MSO’s apology.
“I value most the relationship I have with the MSO, its musicians and its audiences,” he said. “And [I] We look forward to continuing our collaboration in the future.”
At his last concert, held at Southbank’s Iwaki Auditorium on Sunday, Gillham performed several pieces, including the world premiere of Conor Dennett’s “Witness,” which the MSO said was a late addition to the program.
The five-minute piece is dedicated to Gaza journalists and was apparently written for Gilham. D’Netto’s websiteAt the time, the MSO said Mr Gillham had been removed from Thursday’s concert after making comments during the song’s introduction.
“In the last 10 months, Israel has killed more than 100 Palestinian journalists,” he told the crowd on Sunday, according to his management.
“Some of these assassinations have targeted prominent journalists in press vehicles or wearing press uniforms. The killing of journalists is a war crime under international law and is carried out with the aim of preventing war crimes from being documented and broadcast to the world.”
“In addition to the role of journalists to bear witness, the word for ‘witness’ in Arabic is ‘shahid,’ which also means martyr.”
Israel’s attacks on Gaza have been the deadliest conflict for journalists in recent history, with the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists recording the deaths of at least 113 Palestinian journalists and media workers in the war in Gaza.
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The Israeli military has said it has “no policy of targeting media workers” in the Gaza Strip, but also said it sees “no difference” between Hamas militant wing and employees of Al-Aqsa, a media agency widely considered to be the group’s official network.
Following Gillam’s removal from the concert, the Australian Music Students’ Association published an open letter saying it was “deeply disappointed” and strongly condemned the decision.
“Support for Gaza and opposition to genocide are not personal political opinions. Opposition to genocide is not a political issue. They are at the heart of the work and it would be inaccurate to leave them out. Any attempt to politically sanitize the work would invalidate it,” the open letter read.
Erin Madeley, chief executive of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Federation, said in a statement on Wednesday that Mr Gillham had been treated “abysmal” by MSO management and that the company should take full responsibility to “fix this self-inflicted crisis”.
“The response from MSO management is disproportionate and contrary to the principles of artistic expression, has caused Jason great pain and distress and is disrespectful to his fellow musicians and fellow journalists in Gaza,” Madeley said.
“As a union of all media and creative workers, including musicians and journalists, MEAA supports the freedom to express opinions without fear of silence, censorship or retaliation.”
“Witness” composer D’Netto previously described the song as “a bit of a melancholic, contemplative song” that examines social media and the way people are seeing “horrific images” not just in Gaza but around the world.
“Our instinctive reaction may be to look away. [but] It is up to each of us to at least be aware of these things.”
