It was not a typical refrain on the stage of Carnegie Corridor: the acclaimed pianist Evgeny Kissin studying from a sheet of paper as he sang Leonard Bernstein’s “Someplace” with a gathering that included the actor Richard Gere, the mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard and the Broadway star Adrienne Warren.
However there they have been — 4 members of the complete firm that took half in Monday evening’s profit live performance in assist of Ukraine, an array of star energy singing onstage as members of the Ukrainian Refrain Dumka of New York joined from the aisles.
“Maintain my hand and I’ll take you there,” they sang. “One way or the other. Sometime. Someplace.”
It was that form of evening at Carnegie Corridor, as artists from many disciplines and the establishment itself got here collectively to talk out towards the Russian invasion of Ukraine and present solidarity with its victims.
The Ukrainian Refrain Dumka, an novice ensemble that focuses on secular and sacred music from Ukraine, opened the live performance with the Ukrainian nationwide anthem. Diplomats overseas and home provided thanks and spoke in regards to the energy of the humanities in occasions of disaster. In between songs, the mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves paused and choked up briefly whereas talking about her husband, a health care provider, who was in attendance only a day after getting back from Ukraine, the place he had been serving to present medical care.
And there was a message from Ukraine’s first girl.
“Music heals and evokes, music boosts hope and confidence,” the primary girl, Olena Zelenska, stated in prerecorded video message that performed early in this system. “Right now’s occasion is a reminder that Ukraine is an integral a part of world tradition.”
“Music on this stage is a separate necessary victory,” she added. “It’s a signal of unity of our cultures towards the chaos and grief of warfare. And all of you who’re on this corridor in the present day are our efficient and true allies on this cultural wrestle.”
The night included greater than a dozen artists and ensembles. There have been performances by the jazz vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant, the violinist Midori, the singer Michael Feinstein, the soprano Angel Blue and the Broadway singer Jessica Vosk. Mr. Kissin appeared towards the top of this system — first with the violinist Itzhak Perlman to play John Williams’s Theme from “Schindler’s Checklist,” after which to play Chopin’s Scherzo No. 2 alone.
In an interview with The New York Occasions earlier than the live performance, Mr. Kissin stated that taking part in within the profit felt “so pure for me that I can’t even name it a call.”
“Sadly, I’m too outdated and never certified to take a gun and go to combat within the Ukraine, so I’m doing all the things I can: sending cash and participating in concert events for the Ukraine,” he stated. “As a Jew who was born and grew up in Russia, I, having belonged to the best victims of the Russian xenophobia, I’ve at all times felt solidarity with all its different victims, together with the Ukrainians.”
How the Ukraine Battle Is Affecting the Cultural World
Monday’s profit represented Carnegie’s newest effort to make use of its platform to publicly assist Ukraine. This season, Carnegie Corridor had initially supposed to spotlight the work of Valery Gergiev, the Russian conductor who’s a outstanding supporter of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who had deliberate to conduct a sequence of concert events on the corridor with each the Vienna Philharmonic and the Mariinsky Orchestra. But it surely referred to as off these engagements after Russia invaded Ukraine, changing into one of many first cultural establishments to fireplace artists with sturdy ties to Mr. Putin.
Carnegie plans to host the Lviv Nationwide Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine subsequent season.
A number of related advantages for Ukraine have been held by New York arts teams. In March, the Metropolitan Opera placed on a live performance that includes Ukraine’s nationwide anthem and a chunk by the Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov, amongst others. The Met additionally has helped arrange what is named the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra for a tour that’s deliberate for this summer season.
The New York Philharmonic plans to honor the individuals of Ukraine at its upcoming Memorial Day live performance, and to fund-raise with the Worldwide Rescue Committee.
Carnegie Corridor has stated proceeds from its live performance on Monday would go to Direct Aid, a humanitarian assist group that helps reduction efforts in Ukraine.
Because the live performance closed with the full-company finale, a person sitting within the heart part of the parquet may barely include his enthusiasm and heat emotions. Earlier than the members of the Ukrainian refrain may make their approach again up the aisle, he stood up from his seat and reached out to understand a refrain member on the shoulder in a gesture of appreciation.
