Concerts for Ukraine: how you can watch, and show your support

Friday, March 11, 2022

Forthcoming events: Metropolitan Opera benefit concert, and ballet gala at the London Coliseum

'Music truly has the power to heal' - Yannick Nézet-Séguin (photo: Hans Van Der Woerd)
'Music truly has the power to heal' - Yannick Nézet-Séguin (photo: Hans Van Der Woerd)

Demonstrations by the music world of solidarity with Ukrainians following the Russian invasion have included passionate speeches and moving musical moments such as performing the Ukrainian national anthem prior to concerts.

A number of benefit concerts have now been announced to offer financial aid. Here are details of how you can watch online, and show your support. 

Forthcoming concerts

Monday, March 14 - New York Met Opera (6pm EST)

The Metropolitan Opera will host A Concert for Ukraine at 6pm (EST), conducted by Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, with all ticket sales and proceeds going to support relief efforts in Ukraine. 

‘The Met and its artists, led by Yannick, wish to lend our support to the innocent victims of Ukraine, whose lives have been torn asunder,’ said Met General Manager Peter Gelb. ‘We hope the power of our performance will provide some measure of artistic solace, while helping to inspire empathetic people around the world to make donations.’

The programme will open with the Ukrainian National Anthem, followed by A Prayer for the Ukraine by Valentin Silvestrov, Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber, 'Va, pensiero' from Verdi’s Nabucco, Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs sung by Lise Davidsen, and the final movement from Beethoven’s Symphony No 9, featuring Elza van den Heever, Jamie Barton, Piotr Beczała, and Ryan Speedo Green.

‘Music truly has the power to heal, and I hope this special concert will demonstrate our unwavering support for the suffering people of Ukraine,’ said Nézet-Séguin. ‘In times of crisis, it is so important that artists unite and provide consolation and inspiration through our work.’

All tickets are US$50 and will go on sale at noon (EST) on Wednesday, March 9, at metopera.org. The concert will be broadcast in the US via many of the radio stations that regularly carry the Met’s Saturday matinee radio series; by member stations of National Public Radio; via the European Broadcasting Union; on Met Opera Radio on Sirius XM Channel 355 - and streamed live via metopera.org.

Saturday, March 19 - London Coliseum: Dance for Ukraine 

‘Dance for Ukraine,’ a special benefit gala at the London Coliseum, is being held by former Royal Ballet stars and impresarios Ivan Putrov and Alina Cojocaru.

Both dancers describe their dance journey as having begun in Kyiv, and they 'wanted to show their love, admiration and support for friends and family by reaching out to their colleagues to dance to show support and raise funds for the victims of this terrifying conflict'.

Produced by the dance charity Inspiration in Motion, the evening will feature artists from The Royal Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet and English National Ballet including Marianela Nuñez, Mathieu Ganio , Federico Bonelli, Francesco Gabriele Frola, Fumi Kaneko, Isaac Hernández, Alina Cojocaru, Natalia Osipova, Reece Clarke, Katja Khaniukova and Emma Hawes - a line-up representing the international community of dance.

All the participating dancers have donated their services, while the English National Opera is donating use of the London Coliseum. Proceeds will go to Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC), Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal

‘The Gala is about taking a stand for human values,' said Putrov. 'Our unity strengthens the message. Everyone's participation will help someone just like them who found themselves in dire circumstances due to violence of war. Dance, music and art move the world, not violence. Since we, the artists, possess the gift - we must use it.' Click here for full details.

 

Previous concerts - still available online for catch-up.

Sunday, March 6 – Berlin (10am GMT)

Daniel Barenboim conducts the Staatskapelle Berlin and the Choir of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in a concert from Berlin's Staatsoper, in aid of Ukraine with all proceeds from this broadcast, both live and on replay, donated to the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UN's Ukraine Humanitarian Fund.

The programme opens with Ukraine's national anthem composed by Mykhailo Verbytsky. Then come Schubert's Symphony No 8, Unfinished and Beethoven's Symphony No 3, Eroica. Tickets can be purchased from medici.tv

Sunday, March 6 – Geneva (6.30pm GMT)

Anne-Sophie Mutter and Ye-Eun Choi (violins), Vladimir Babeshko (viola), and Daniel Müller-Schott (cello) perform string quartets at the Inter­national Red Cross, Geneva with tickets sales going to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The programme contains Haydn's String Quartet in E flat, Op 20 No 1 and Beethoven's in G, Op 18 No 2 followed by the Air by JS Bach. Tickets can be purchased from medici.tv

Sunday, March 6 - Amsterdam (7.15pm GMT)

On Sunday, Ukrainian pianist Anna Fedorova, Russian cellist Maya Fridman and Ukrainian percussionist Konstantyn Napolov will join other artists to offer a 'Concert for Peace' at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. Within 48 hours of tickets going on sale, more than €85,000 had already been donated, with the money going to support the work of Giro 555, the Dutch member of the Emergency Appeals Alliance (EAA).

The concert will be Livestreamed by the Dutch classical radio station NPO Radio 4 at 8.15pm (CET) and can be watched via Facebook and YouTube.

Viewers are asked to donate to the Red Cross or to support their national charity for Ukraine.

Tuesday, March 8 - Munich (7.15pm GMT, and various other times); video-streamed on Saturday, March 12

On Tuesday the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Bavarian State Orchestra, together with Anne-Sophie Mutter and conductor Lahav Shani, will hold a benefit concert at the Isarphilharmonie. All proceeds from the concert will go to support Save the Children's work in Ukraine. 

The event will be broadcast live on radio on BR-KLASSIK at 8pm local time, and then video-streamed on Saturday March 12 at 8:15 p.m on BR-KLASSIK CONCERT, before receiving subsequent online and television broadcasts. The programme will include Beethoven's Symphony No 5 and Violin Concerto.

'Everyone can and must help now. Words alone are not enough,' said Mutter. 'This is a terrible humanitarian disaster. We must stand together with the people of Ukraine. I ask you from the bottom of my heart for your donation to Save the Children so that as many children as possible in Ukraine and neighbouring countries can be helped.'

Thursday, March 10 - Bergen (Live stream begins at 19.25 CET)

The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra has turned its scheduled March 10 concert into a benefit concert for the people of Ukraine, with all ticket income donated to humanitarian aid.

Called ‘Ukraine in our Hearts – Solidarity Concert’, it will now include both the Ukrainan national anthem and Prayer for Ukraine by Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov. Artists include conductor Andris Poga, harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani and the Edvard Grieg choir.

The concert will also be live streamed on Bergenphilive (free to watch as usual) - for more details, click here.  

(Charity links given above may be to the organisations' UK websites - you can search for their national sites most relevant to you)

This story was updated on March 5, to include the Berlin and Geneva concerts, and again on March 7 to include the Bergen Concert. We will add more concerts as we hear of them.

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