Kremers leads oppositionist musician group

RIGA - The world renowned Latvian-born violinist Gidons Kremers is putting together a group of like-minded artists to perform a concert in support of Russian oppositionists who have been suppressed or jailed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, wrote music critic Norman Lebrecht in his blog on July 22, reports Lenta.ru. The group of musicians will be made up of pianist Martha Argerich, conductor Daniel Barenboim, pianist Khatia Buniatishvili and cellist Nicolas Altstaedt.

Among the pieces to be performed is Giya Kancheli’s ‘Angel of Sorrow,’ written for the jailed oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovski.
This is not the first time Kremer has spoken out against the Putin regime, but he has not linked his views before to public protest, according to Lebrecht. Asked about colleagues such as Anna Netrebko and Valery Gergiev who are outspoken Putin supporters, Kremers refused to comment on the acts of individuals under a harsh regime.

“My teacher David Oistrakh was a representative of the Soviet regime and, at the same time, a very great artist,” said Kremer. “I can well imagine what he went through. Who knows if it did not take years off his life.”