Pianist Igor Levit has mixed feelings about the repeated call on Russian artists to distance themselves from President Vladimir Putin because of the Ukraine war.
“It’s a double-edged sword. I do think it’s a civic obligation to position yourself,” said the 35-year-old musician.
“But at the same time, it’s also a bloody luxury to be able to do that without risking either going to jail or putting your family in danger. Artists have no obligation to speak up.”
According to Levit, however, “artists who are and will remain political players” have to be dealt with differently. The star conductor and Putin friend Valerij Gergiev is seen as such a player, which is why he lost his position as chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic, among other things.
The Lithuanian star soprano Asmik Grigorian recently called for artists to be free as a matter of principle. This includes the freedom to remain silent. “I can subscribe to every word that Asmik Gregorian said,” Levit emphasized – “except for those who loudly defend this fascism in Russia”.
