European artists boycott US over Trump's culture policy

3 days ago 9

Amid the US administration's rapid dismantling of federal government agencies, President Donald Trump has also set his sights on cultural institutions.

This month, Trump fired the board of directors of the Kennedy Center, Washington D.C.'s premiere cultural venue that hosts over 2,000 performances a year.

He then appointed himself chair of the board of the iconic arts institution and filled the board with allies — including conservative Fox News hosts Laura Ingraham and Maria Bartiromo.

"No more drag shows or other anti-American propaganda - only the best,” Donald Trump wrote on social media in reference to his revamped Kennedy Center, which he also described as "too woke."

Trump also promised a "golden age of American arts and culture."

However, after Trump's firings and partisan appointments, producers canceled a planned staging of the Broadway musical "Hamilton" at the center.

Several European artists who regularly tour the United States have also axed performances.

Among them is Andras Schiff, the world-renowned Hungarian-British pianist. He canceled upcoming concerts with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra in the US due to what he called the "brutal takeover" of the Kennedy Center in Washington."

Donald Trump is acting like "a crazy elephant in a china store," the 71-year-old virtuoso told DW.

Andras Schiff, who has gray hair and wears a dark jacket, clasps their hands

'I see little hope for the future'

Schiff, the Budapest-born child of Holocaust survivors, has long been outspoken against attempts to shut down artistic expression.

Back in 2011, he denounced the erosion of democracy and in his home country of Hungary under autocratic president Viktor Orban — who, like Trump, appointed political allies to run formerly independent cultural institutions.

After Schiff was targetted with insults and hate speech from ruling party officials, he stopped playing concerts in his native Hungary.

He is now boycotting concerts in the US that he agreed to about two years ago while Joe Biden was president, he explained.

But now the situation has fundamentally changed. And the versatile interpreter of Mozart, Schubert, Schumann or Bach doesn't see things changing for the better any time soon.

"Trump was legitimately elected by a large proportion of Americans, and they are enraptured by him no matter what he does," said Schiff.

"That's why I see little hope for the future. What kind of value system is it where only money, power and business count, where culture and science play no role?"

Concern about cultural diversity in the US

Other artists have joined international voices of dissent protest against US cultural policy, including the renowned French-Canadian cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras.

"I am watching the events in the USA with great concern," he told DW. "Culture and freedom always go hand in hand. They cannot exist without each other."

"The freedom to be creative is dependent on institutions that function democratically and support the arts," he added.

Jean-Guihen Queyras will donate the proceeds from his five performances in the US this year to the United24 foundation that supports Ukrainian defense, education and rebuilding in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian designers use fashion to fight war fatigue

The cellist exchanges ideas with fellow musicians and colleagues in the US.

"On a private level, I have received many messages from US colleagues after I took a stand,” said Queyras, who is also a professor at the Freiburg University of Music in southern Germany.

But Queyras fears some might avoid speaking out in public against the new administration.

He senses that these artists already have "little leeway" and likely "censor themselves for fear of consequences."

Jean-Guihen Queyras, dressed in a casual pullover and jeans, sits on a wooden chair holding a cello

"It can happen that quickly," he added.

Queyras will play his first US concert in Seattle in April.

"I'm curious to see if I'll be allowed to enter the country," he said.

More concert cancellations in solidarity with US artists

Celebrated German violinist Christian Tetzlaff, a regular performer in the States, is another European classical musician who has canceled upcoming concerts.

Tetzlaff felt he needed to speak out and cancel his tour, due to "absolute silence in America," both among "musicians, orchestras, and even politicians."

Speaking with German broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), he said many expected "millions to be on the streets now, because everything that America stood for is being abolished."

Referring to the dismantling of DEI, or Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, including "women's rights," by the Trump administration, he fears a return to the past.

"In the first seven weeks, everything has been turned back a hundred years," he said.

German concert pianist Schaghajegh Nosrati has also decided to cancel her performances in US.

"It is with a heavy heart that I have to announce my decision to cancel my USA tour planned for this fall," she wrote in an Instagram post on March 9.

She wrote of "great emotional pain" seeing "autocratic" developments under a Trump administration that "claims the right to interfere in cultural institutions and sciences and dismisses masses of people who do not confirm to government's ideology."

Meanwhile, Donald Trump is continuing to dismantle both cultural and educational institutions.

"We're going to shut it down, and we're going to shut it down as fast as we can,” Trump said of the Department of Education at his White House inauguration ceremony. "It's not doing us any good."

With the dismissals and shutdowns just beginning, it remains to be seen how many in the cultural sphere will add to existing voices of protest and dissent.

Laetitia Glück also contributed to this article.

The article was originally written in German.

Read Entire Article