|
One of the earliest concerts was March 12 at the Eastman Theater in Rochester, N.Y. Two days later, the Metropolitan Opera in New York held a benefit performance, with all ticket sales and donations going to support relief efforts. Since then, concerts have been mounted nationwide—although you generally don't hear much about them unless one is nearby, and even then there is little notice of how widespread these independent efforts are.
Of course, charitable concerts can do only so much to ease the suffering and hardships of the Ukrainians, but fundraising is important. Moreover, the events help us cope with the war news splashed across front pages and TV screens. In tough times, we often turn to music.
According to Caro Howell, director of London's Foundling Museum, one of the earliest examples of an organized benefit concert occurred in 1749, when the composer George Frideric Handel supported Britain's first children's charity. The program included the debut of Handel's "Foundling Hospital Anthem," beginning with a text adapted from Psalm 41: "Blessed are they that consider the poor and needy, . . . they deliver the poor that crieth, the fatherless." The event was so successful that it was held again the following year, with Handel conducting his epic oratorio "Messiah."
In August 1971, at New York's Madison Square Garden, George Harrison organized a concert for Bangladesh, with two performances taking in close to $250,000. Subsequent record albums and TV shows raised much more— an estimated $12 million. After that, benefit concerts became routine, notably with "Live Aid" and "Farm Aid" in 1985 and Paul McCartney's "Concert for New York City" after the World Trade Center attack in 2001.
But these are single events mounted by superstars. What's happening now with concerts for Ukraine is almost spontaneous combustion by lesser-known performers in locales worldwide. Typical was a March 27 concert at the Music Hall theater in Tarrytown, N.Y. Co-producer Irena Portenko, a classical pianist, explained, "We had to do something." The single sellout performance raised nearly $28,000.
In Reading, Pa., last weekend, tickets went for $20 at a Ukraine benefit concert featuring local musicians. In Shaker Heights, Ohio, this coming weekend, local musicians and educators are joining for a benefit, with tickets as high as $1,000. A concert, organized by Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and more than two dozen other mayors, in King County, Wash., is already sold out. A different approach was tried last month in San Diego, where the concert organized by the Spreckels Organ Society was free, with attendees urged to donate money to Ukrainian relief efforts.
When celebrities take part in charitable concerts it's an example of what the sociologist Paul Schervish has called "catalytic philanthropy." Money is raised, but by endorsing a cause, performers also inspire others to make donations.
One point of contention, however, concerns those musicians who have in the past expressed support for Vladimir Putin. The Metropolitan Opera broke ties with soprano Anna Netrebko last month over her failure to repudiate her longstanding support of Mr. Putin. The singer wrote that she opposed the war in Ukraine, but added, "forcing artists, or any public figure, to voice their political opinions in public and to denounce their homeland is not right."
Then there are amateur performers such as Valentin Kovalev, a Russian student in the University of Michigan's masters program for saxophone performance, who has helped organize a benefit concert for Ukraine next Sunday, featuring performances by both students and faculty.
"As a musician, I cannot do a lot of things. I'm not a politician; I cannot change anything; I cannot change this whole situation, but I can bring the awareness to people," Mr. Kovalev told the Ann Arbor News. "I can unite us all in music because music has its own language. . . . We all speak the language of music."
(c) Peter Funt. This column originally appeared in The Wall Street Journal.
|
|
