‘While My Violin Gently Weeps’: Woman quits playing Russian music, finds it 'inappropriate' to promote nation's culture
She originally asked to stay a member of the Sinfonietta Riga but be given permission to take unpaid days off in order to avoid playing Russian music. The proposal was rejected by its leadership, who claimed that doing so would set a poor precedent
Marta Sparnina. File Picture. Source: Twitter
Riga: After being turned down for her request to perform no music by Russian composers, a violinist from Latvia has chosen to leave the orchestra where she spent more than ten years working.
In light of the war in Ukraine, Marta Sparnina, a seasoned musician who has been a member of the orchestra since 2009, claimed that promoting the nation’s culture is inappropriate.
The public was made aware of the conflict at Latvia’s Sinfonietta Riga state chamber ensemble last Friday by the “Culture Shock” programme on Latvian Television. (LTV).
The orchestra group was only established three years before she started working there, and Normunds Schne had been the creative director ever since.
His selection of Russian artists’ music for the orchestra’s programme drew criticism from Sparnina.
“We pick Russian music for our tours and in doing so popularize this culture, willingly or not, at a time when I believe it should be silenced,” she explained.
Schne rejected the notion and made it clear during a group meeting with musicians that it is up to him to decide what will be played in the program.
“We do not have a collective discussion of the repertoire in principle. People know where they come to work. They know me and know my principles for choosing the repertoire,” he told Russian media.
The Sinfonietta Riga does not perform anything based on “cooperation with the Kremlin regime or glorifies the rule of Russian President Vladimir Putin,” Schne added.
LTV claims that Sparnina originally asked to stay a member of the Sinfonietta Riga but be given permission to take unpaid days off in order to avoid playing Russian music.
The proposal was rejected by its leadership, who claimed that doing so would set a poor precedent. They explained that the next time, a Lutheran could abstain from a performance at a Catholic church for comparable reasons.
According to the report, Sparnina received some support from other musicians. In a group chat, 11 individuals declared their support for Sparnina, eight others defended Russian music, and three suggested that the orchestra should forbid works by contemporary Russian artists. On its website, the Sinfonietta Riga features 34 performers.
Many Western countries made calls to “cancel” Russian art in retaliation after the beginning of Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine in February 2022.
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