The New York Philharmonic stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, and dedicates this week’s concerts to the strength, courage, and resilience of those resisting Russia’s invasion of that sovereign nation.
This week’s program pays tribute to the fortitude of the human spirit in the face of the fiercest adversity. Nielsen’s Fourth Symphony, The Inextinguishable, was composed during World War I and extols, in the composer’s words, “the elemental will to live.” And under the weight of manifold crises, Beethoven proclaimed, “I will seize Fate by the throat; it shall certainly not crush me completely.” His Fifth Symphony has become emblematic of human struggle.
That such enduring music was created in times of fear and conflict reminds us of eternal truths: that music has the power to unite; that the will for freedom and self-determination is indomitable. The New York Philharmonic joins our voice with those heard in crowds gathered across the world to support the Ukrainians in their defiance of such stark, violent aggression, and hopes for the time when their sacrifices will be rewarded with enduring independence and peace.
