More than two centuries after Beethoven ripped up his dedication to Napoleon on the title page of what would become the “Eroica” Symphony, and three years after much of the classical music world responded to the invasion of Ukraine with boycotts against Russia, there’s a new wave of pushback from classical musicians — this time against the American government.
It began last month when the renowned German violinist Christian Tetzlaff canceled his U.S. tour, a decision reacting to recent policies pursued by President Donald Trump. Tetzlaff and his quartet will not perform their scheduled eight-city tour, which was to have started on March 21 at San Francisco Performances and continued on March 22 at Irvine Barclay Theatre in Orange County.
“I struggled with myself terribly because America was actually always my main playing field,” Tetzlaff told NDR (Norddeutscher Rundfunk), a German public radio and television broadcaster. “I have at least 20 concerts in America every year and have many contacts, friends, organizers, and rooms [for which] I really enjoy playing.
“But I didn’t see any other option for myself, not even for the future. If [I were performing music that] addresses the situation for Americans who are suffering under [their current president’s] politics, then I could imagine playing a concert, but not as an entertainment program at the moment.
“Many of us feel sadness about what we have lost, anger and pity, but none of these things are useful or good for us in the long run. For me, the reason I’m canceling is because there is absolute silence in America among musicians, orchestras, even politicians.”
A different approach is being taken by cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras, who will perform his scheduled U.S. concerts in 2025 but donate all proceeds to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s United24 foundation. Queyras cited the Feb. 28 meeting between Trump and Zelensky as a motivator.
“After last week’s horrific spectacle at the White House — staged to humiliate President Zelensky — and the U.S.’s rapid shift away from the fundamental freedoms and democratic ideals that Europe and the West have long defended, and after Christian Tetzlaff’s strong decision to cancel his upcoming U.S. appearances, I have been considering what to do with my five U.S. dates this year.
“I have decided to honor these engagements while donating all proceeds to [United24]. Recognizing the extremely urgent need to support the brave Ukrainian people in their struggle for their and our freedom, I have provided a substantial advance on these incomes to United24, effective immediately. I humbly call on all who can to join this struggle and act as quickly as possible,” Queyras wrote in a public Facebook post.
Ukraine is not the only political issue galvanizing those in the arts. On Friday, March 7, several Canadian figures, including author Louise Penny, announced their intentions to boycott the U.S. due to President Trump’s plan to put tariffs on all goods from Canada. For Penny, this means no longer traveling to the U.S. for in-person events.
Not every change among artists and presenters has been voluntary, however. Locally, the San Francisco Symphony and San Francisco Conservatory of Music have had to pause their joint Emerging Black Composers Project (EBCP). This is in response to a memo from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, which warned that schools could lose federal funding for engaging in what were described as “pervasive and repugnant race-based preferences.”
The memo continued, “Proponents of these discriminatory practices have attempted to further justify them — particularly during the last four years — under the banner of ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (‘DEI’), smuggling racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming, and discipline.”
The EBCP, which was launched in 2020, aims to lower barriers for Black composers at the start of their careers by each year awarding one winner a $15,000 prize and a world premiere commission from the SF Symphony, plus mentorship opportunities.
“It’s difficult to see really positive things stop because of a coming climate of fear,” Trevor Weston, the EBCP’s inaugural winner and chair of the music department at Drew University, told the San Francisco Chronicle. “In different institutions, people are quietly saying, ‘Our school is worried that they’re coming for us.’ … The fear is that a program like this [is] helping people who are somehow undeserving or receiving help over others as opposed to what it really has done, which is … helping those who were actually ignored or forgotten.”
SFCM’s website notes that the school “is committed to raising all voices in everything that we do by bringing experiences from different genders, sexual orientations, and races into the Conservatory, creating a comprehensive community where every musician can thrive.”
After the memo was delivered to SFCM, the school’s president, David H. Stull, sent a message to faculty and students about the Conservatory’s “plan to undertake several changes in an abundance of caution, though we believe that all of our current practices are in compliance with the laws of the United States.”
Stull wrote that “while SFCM does not receive direct programmatic support from the government, all subsidized student loans, work-study awards, Pell Grants, and other forms of student aid do flow from federal sources. Currently SFCM students receive approximately $4 million per year through these programs.”
Assuring students that “current financial aid packages will not be affected,” Stull clarified that the Department of Education memo would only impact future decisions SFCM might have to make.
He continued, “There is very little in this directive that contravenes our current activities. First, in regard to our admission process, every current student at SFCM has passed our audition standard, no exceptions. While skills do vary by individual, the baseline considerations are ability, accomplishment, work ethic, and a passion for being a musician while bringing an individual voice to our community. In short, each one of you has earned your place at the Conservatory.
“Two additional issues addressed in this memo are associated with financial aid and the total number of admitted applicants. Our financial aid packages are predicated on merit and need, and they are applied through a uniform process to all students. The consideration of race or other identity has never been used to determine final admissions decisions and has not been used to determine the amount of financial aid a student receives.”
Composer Shawn E. Okpebholo, who received an honorable mention in the EBCP’s first award year, wrote in an Instagram post: “Due to the impact of anti-DEI policies, initiatives like [the] EBCP, institutions like the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and arts organizations like the San Francisco Symphony are being forced to navigate an increasingly complex and hostile reality. … I continue to stand firmly with the [SF Symphony], SFCM, and all arts organizations committed to finding a path forward.”
Meanwhile, national attention has continued to be focused on events at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., where President Trump fired board members and named new ones, who then voted him to be the chairman of the center, replacing David Rubenstein.
The new board also terminated Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter’s contract and announced Richard Grenell as interim executive director.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as it’s formally known, hosts more than 2,000 events annually and is the official residence of the National Symphony Orchestra and Washington National Opera.
Since President Dwight Eisenhower signed into law a 1958 bill establishing the center, which officially opened in 1971, government involvement with the center has been limited to the building’s upkeep and the appointment of the organization’s board.
“I have decided to immediately terminate multiple individuals from the Board of Trustees, including the Chairman, who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture,” Trump said in a social media post that featured an altered image of the president in a conductor’s jacket.
Reaction from artists was immediate, including resignations and cancellations of engagements. Last week, Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda announced that he had decided to withdraw the musical from its scheduled long run at the center next year, which was to have coincided with the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
“It’s not The Kennedy Center as we knew it,” Miranda told The New York Times. “It’s not for all of us. It’s just for Donald Trump and his crowd. So we made a decision we can’t do it.”
In a post on social media, Grenell called Miranda’s cancellation “a publicity stunt that will backfire.” The interim executive director also accused the songwriter and actor of being “intolerant of people who don’t agree with him politically” and said that it was clear that Miranda and Hamilton lead producer Jeffrey Seller “don’t want Republicans going to their shows.”
