2023-12-06 14:34:00
Justus Frantz is not only a world famous conductor and pianist. It was he who created the Schleswig-Holstein Festival (Stiftung) in 1986 Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival), making it one of the largest classical music forums. Due to performances in Russia and close ties with this country, Franz was removed from the festival program (all details are at the link in the DW article). DW spoke with him after the suspension story became public knowledge.
DW: Mr. Franz, who will receive the title of Person of the Year? – Putin or Barbie? On Wednesday, December 6, magazine Time will announce the “winner”.
Justus Franz: I admit, I am not familiar with the full list of candidates. Who else is there?
– Singer Taylor Swift, participants in the strike of Hollywood writers and actors, Charles III…
– You know, I often met King Charles, then he was still a prince. Therefore, I will be happy to put this crown on his head.
– You know the British king, but what connects you with the Russian president?
– I met him when he was deputy mayor of St. Petersburg Sobchak. Together with his wife, he often came to the opera, where I was conducting at that moment. For Russia it was a real sensation – “The Magic Flute” in German. I think he was at a few shows. That’s where we met.
– Neither after the annexation of Crimea, nor after the start of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, did you cut off your ties with Russia. You give concerts in annexed Crimea, and in 2023 you joined the jury of the Tchaikovsky Competition. How is this possible? Is there not even a shadow of doubt? Are you sure you’re doing the right thing?
– It is absolutely obvious to me that Crimea plays a very important role in the cultural history of Russia. If I am correctly guided by history, then before Khrushchev Crimea belonged to Russia. Then Khrushchev, without asking anyone about it, committed a typical Soviet injustice – and gave Crimea to Ukraine. Before that, Crimea was part of the Ottoman Empire, but it was never Ukrainian. Therefore, I cannot howl with everyone together that this is something unheard of. I have already said that I consider this to be an establishment of historical justice.
– What do you say today about the war in Ukraine, you never condemned it?
– You know, we Germans know a lot about wars of conquest. Of course, I am against any war! I am an absolute pacifist. But I also know that every war, like every disease, has its own backstory. And the background of the war in Ukraine was explained to me in my house by Henry Kissinger. Literally: NATO expansion could lead to World War III. But I am a musician, why don’t you ask me about Beethoven or Tchaikovsky?
– Here’s the next question – just from your sphere. You are now building cultural bridges with Russia. Aren’t they burned? already completely?
– Now everything is burned. It is impossible to get across the border to Helsinki (closure of the Russian-Finnish border. – Ord.). But culture, and especially music, can never be a weapon. It’s always a bridge! The terrible Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, tried to use culture as a propaganda weapon. I resist! For me, culture is inviolable. It should always be there. We must do our best to maintain connections. Culture is the best remedy.
– Can we be sure that Russia is not using culture as a weapon, building cultural bridges in parallel with the war in Ukraine??
– It never occurred to me. You probably know that they attacked me with reproaches because I was on the jury of the Tchaikovsky Competition. But there were so many Western jury members (according to information on the competition website, the jury of the XVII International Tchaikovsky Competition included musicians and cultural figures from 18 countries of the world, from Germany, in addition to Justus Franz, there were Wilfried Strehle, Engelbert Schmidt , Michael Massong. – Ord.). And we were exclusively concerned with the fate of young and very talented musicians. I am proud of this! I had the opportunity to work with Bernstein and Herbert von Karajan, so today I really want to help those who deserve it.
– You were familiar with Karajan. You probably didn’t miss the news that the theater in Aachen removed the bust of the famous conductor because of his connections with the Nazis.
– Yes, of course, and next in line is Furtwängler. And my relative was Count von Moltke (Helmuth von Moltke), he was a field marshal general. And now the streets named after him should be renamed because he was supposedly a colonialist. Only Germany at that time did not have a single colony. My family was in the Resistance. My father went to his death for the sake of his humanistic beliefs. He was shot before I was even born. This is what left a mark. Sometimes circumstances oblige you to make some compromises. We do not know for certain in what situation and what exactly Karajan did.
– Now it has become known that you have been removed from your own “brainchild”. Are you not afraid that you will someday have to pay an even higher price for your performances in Russia??
– I’ll tell you this. I was very active in helping Ukraine and founded the aid fund Die Freundschaftsbrücke. We provided great assistance to the victims of the Chernobyl disaster. I personally came to Ukraine with concerts. Two years ago I invited the chief conductor of the national orchestra from Kyiv. I try not to be one-sided, but always build bridges as wide as possible.
– Kissinger was your guest during his lifetime, recently Sarah Wagenknecht was in your house. Could you invite Anna Netrebko?
– If my living room isn’t too small for her voice! I would certainly be glad to hear her sing at home. She sang the role of Susanna at the Mariinsky Theater at one of her first performances in the opera Figaro; she has an unforgettable voice (musician Justus Franz was one of the first foreigners to stage operas at the Mariinsky Theater in the early 1990s. His “Wedding” Figaro” became a highlight of 1994. – Ord.).
– Since you’re talking about the Mariinsky. You congratulated your friend Valery Gergiev? On December 1, 2023, he was appointed director of the Bolshoi Theater.
– Of course, I congratulated him. This is an incredible task! How he plans to deal with it is a mystery to me. But he is so designed that he can conduct two operas in one evening, and different ones at that. I can only say that he is one of the most brilliant conductors I know. We have been friends for 20 years, and we certainly won’t let politics quarrel between us.
– Do you really plan to celebrate your 80th birthday in 2024 in Russia?
– Well, if the Germans no longer favor me, then there is a temptation to celebrate the anniversary in one of the most beautiful cities in the world – St. Petersburg.
– Since you like Russia so much, maybe you are planning to get Russian citizenship?
– No, I’m German. But I’m thinking about a residence permit in Russia.
– How did you react to being removed from the festival that you yourself founded?
– Schleswig-Holstein is a beautiful land, but there are many others that are no less beautiful. Beautiful music can be played everywhere. But this festival was associated with the idea of peace, and we were confident that we could unite people with the help of culture and overcome differences.
– Do you think you will be able to rebuild the burned bridges?
– Now, of course, you are first of all thinking about Russia. And I’m trying to unite the world. In the “Philharmonic of Nations” (the unique international orchestra “Philharmonic of Nations” was founded by Franz in 1995. – Ord) played by representatives of different nationalities, including those from the former Yugoslavia. While their parents were shooting at each other, the younger generation played music together. German President Roman Herzog had tears streaming down his cheeks during this speech…
– And you could unite Russian and Ukrainian musicians?
– I have already had such a concert.
See also:
#Loves #Netrebko #friends #Gergiev #Justus #Franz #06.12.2023