In a rare public statement, more than 300 French and international musicians condemn “the support of Western powers for the genocidal policy of the State of Israel, which tramples international law and its institutions with total impunity.” They call on the so-called “classical” music world to clarify its stance on the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
This collective statement calls upon the milieu commonly referred to as “classical” music to clarify its position regarding the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
It seeks to bring together artists, musicians, and workers from the worlds of early music, baroque, classical, and contemporary music, as well as the institutions that frame and sustain them — institutions that have the responsibility to make their stance unequivocally heard in the face of deadly Western imperialist policies, the consequences of which weigh heavily on the peoples of the Global Majority, and in particular on the Palestinian people. This milieu must know from where it speaks, and ensure that it does not become complicit through silence or inaction.
We are fully aware of the privilege of our position. Therefore, we wish to speak out from where we stand, with the means available to us, and aspire to strengthen this mobilization in the hope that it may influence the decisions of European and U.S. governments, whose responsibility in this tragedy is immense.
Classical music, in its entirety, maintains an undeniable link with the history of European states. It seems essential to us that this tradition not be confused with a certain form of conservatism that would manifest in the appropriation and instrumentalization of these musics of the past by a political camp aligned with domination — whether geopolitical, social, or societal.
It is equally important that the actors of this milieu be able to assert their political convictions without taboo, and above all without feeling pressure to remain silent, for fear of being boycotted by dominant institutions or of endangering an already precarious status, particularly for young musicians.
Here are our urgent positions and demands:
- An immediate ceasefire in Gaza and throughout the region, as well as the lifting of all humanitarian blockades.
- The recognition of the State of Palestine by all EU member states, and the implementation of a solution based on a binational state.
- The immediate end to the EU’s complicity, in particular:
the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement;
the immediate halt to arms sales and deliveries by the EU;
the establishment of economic sanctions against Israel;
the respect and enforcement of the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
We firmly condemn the support of Western powers for the genocidal policy of the State of Israel, which tramples international law and its institutions with total impunity. We also denounce all complicit corporations and multinationals that profit from this unspeakable humanitarian catastrophe.
We denounce the apartheid regime imposed by the Israeli authorities and supported by the United States and the European Union, as well as the discriminatory and terrorizing policies and practices that result: restrictions on freedom of movement, land dispossession, forced displacement of populations… We remind that apartheid constitutes a crime against humanity and a grave violation of human rights under international law.
We support the Palestinian people in their struggle for self-determination, as well as all civilian populations — Palestinian, Israeli, or otherwise — who demand equality of rights among the peoples of this region.
We reaffirm our commitment against all forms of racism, including rampant Islamophobia, antisemitism, and anti-Black racism. We also denounce their alarming normalization, as well as the discourses that fuel them.
We also denounce the ongoing ecocide, for which the Israeli government bears heavy responsibility through its military actions. We remind that environmental destruction in Gaza violates numerous laws and international conventions meant to protect the environment during armed conflict, and that the deliberate destruction of the environment can constitute a war crime.
We strongly denounce the criminalization and repression carried out by states against individuals and activists who criticize the Israeli government’s policies and support the Palestinian cause. It is outrageous to witness such repression in demonstrations, collectives, schools, and universities.
It is important to reaffirm the necessary distinction between the Zionist colonial project and Jewish identity, and likewise between anti-Zionism and antisemitism. Let us not reproduce the vile tactics employed by those who govern us and by certain media that support this noxious policy in order to divide peoples!
We are aware of the many political blind spots we may encounter. We thus acknowledge the shortcomings of this manifesto and the issues it may raise. It is also intended as a starting point for collective reflection on the political questions that run through the world of classical music.
First signatories, in alphabetical order:
Lisandro Abadie
Hameline Abraham
Hugo Abraham
Ariel Abramovich
Sylvia Abramovicz
Louise Acabo
Catherine Aglibut
Camille Allérat
Pavel Amilcar
Sassoun Arapian
Jérémie Arcache
Berta Ares
Siobhán Armstrong
Emily Ashton
Nicolas Aubin
Louise Ayrton
Chantal Baeumler
Enrico Baiano
Lucile Bailly-Gourévitch
Arthur Baldensperger
Emmanuel Balssa
Baldomero Barciela
Martin Barré
Loris Barrucand
Teodoro Baù
Giovanna Baviera
Noé Bécaus
Dounia Behna
Emilia Benjamin
Catalina Bertucci
Anna Besson
Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas
Amandine Beyer
Martin Billé
Judith Le Blanc
Margaux Blanchard
Hana Blažíková
Jeanne Bleuse
Aline Blondiau
Garance Boizot
Bianca Bolzoni
Alice Borciani
Lucile Boulanger
Marie-Pia Le Bouteiller
Patrizia Bovi
Pierre-Baptiste Brioude
Sébastien Brohier
Gauthier Broutin
Kaan Bulak
Julio Caballero
Matthieu Camilleri
Raphaëlle Camus
Irene Maria Caraba
François Cardey
Rémy Cardinale
Emile Carlioz
Maguelonne Carnus-Gourgues
Marco Ceccato
Lucas Chabane
David Chalmin
Sarah Charles
Justine Charlet
Naomie Charlier
Amélie Chemin
Keyvan Chemirani
Valeria Chiappetta
Christophe Chomant
Camille Chopin
Romeo Ciuffa
Gisèle Clément
Violaine Cochard
Niels Coppalle
Michel Coppé
Ornella Corvi
Cyril Costanzo
Emma Crumpton
Bertrand Cuiller
Laurence Cummings
Silouane Colmet Daâge
Sophie Daneman
Teddy Danjean
Nora Dargazanli
Carolina Dawabe
Romain Dayez
Bertrand Dazin
Anna Dego
Georges Deppe
Hugues Deschaux
Jonas Descotte
Jeanne Desoubeaux
Manuel Doutrelant
Laurence Dreyfus
Renata Duarte
Lila Dufy
Jadran Duncumb
Jonathan Dunford
Odile Edouard
Martin Egidi
Thomas Eisner
Cyril Escoffier
Hélène Escriva
Alvaro Etcheverry
Sara Maria Fantini
Victoire Fellonneau
Fabrice Ferez
Lixania Fernandez
Rebeca Ferri
Gisela Figueras
Hana Fleková
Simon Foltran
Elodie Fonnard
Naïs Formentin
Camille Frachet
Peppe Frana
Matthieu Franchin
Elsa Frank
Tiago Simas Freire
Benjamin Fryde
Clotilde Gaborit
Capucine Gallard
Etienne Galletier
Laurent Gardeux
William Garlick
Salomé Gasselin
Elisabeth Geiger
Alain Gervreau
Clément Gester
Kateřina Ghannudi
Arnaud Gluck
Florian Götz
Serge Goubioud
Chiara Granata
Manuel Granatiero
Claire Gravelines
Juliette Guichard
Juliette Guignard
Agnès Boissonnot Guilbault
Renaud Guy-Rousseau
Jean-Louis Haguenauer
Amy Haigh
Lila Hajosi
Guillaume Haldenwang
Hager Hanana
Lilian Harismendy
Samuel Hengebaert
Lucas Henri
Izleh Henry
Simon Heyerick
Julia Hodges
Bethany Horak Hallett
Marco Horvat
Filip Hrubý
Lila Hublitz
Barbara Hünninger
Jean-Philippe Ichard
Alexandre Jamar
Estelle Janod
Miriam Jorde Hompanera
François Joubert-Caillet
Charlotte Juillard
Alice Julien-Laferrière
Antonia Kallenbach
Yoko Kawakubo
Capucine Keller
Iris Keller
Bruce Kennedy
Ronan Kernoa
Thomas Kettle
Robin Kirklar
Yuki Koike
Pablo Kornfeld
Thibault Krizman
Loucas Laborderie
Gabrielle Lafait
Adam Laloum
Louise Lapierre
Nicolas Lartaun
Benoît Laurent
Ariane Le Fournis
Angèle Legasa
Neven Lesage
Romain Leleu
Matthieu Le Levreur
Barbara Le Liepvre
Vincent Le Texier
Marc de la Linde
Andrea Livache
Loriane Llorca
Andrés Locatelli
Julien Lubek
Luciana Mancini
Giulia Manfredini
Ismael Margain
Florent Marie
Pernelle Marzorati
Inès Matady
Angélique Mauillon
Reinoud Van Mechelen
Kamran Mercier
Victor Mériaux
Armance Merle
Caroline Michel
Tobie Miller
Maurizio Missiato
Malo Mollandin de Boissy
Vincent Morel
Marine Morello
Clara Mühlethaler
Claire Naessens
Luís Neiva
Sepideh Nikoukar
Anna Nowak-Pokrzywinsk
Sarah Van Oudenhove
Fanny Paccoud
Carolina Pace
Paolo Pandolfo
Jérémie Papasergio
Manon Papasergio
Marta Paramo
Arnaud De Pasquale
Martial Pauliat
Antoine Pecqueur
René Perler
Mélina Perlin-Féliers
Florence Petit-Sibley
Robin Pharo
Bruno Philippe
Aude-Marie Piloz
Simone El Oufir Pierini
Gabriel Pidoux
Christina Pluhar
Paul Poupinet
Mónica Pustilnik
Juan Manuel Quintana
Amélie Raison
Layal Ramadan
Roxana Rastegar
Lilo Raynaud
Guillaume Renévot
Guillermo Reyes Abat
Marie Van Rhijn
Clémentine Richard
Pascal Richardin
Lucile Richardot
Erwan Ricordeau
Myriam Rignol
Gabriel Rignol
Daniela Rivera Corredor
Charlotte Rivier
Léon Roch
Lucie Roche
Antoine Rochetti
Boris Rojanski
Baptiste Romain
Jean Rondeau
Tessa Roos
Julie Roset
Felix Roth
Cécile Roubin
Pierre-Emmanuel Rousseau
Thibaut Roussel
Emma Lisa Roux
Carla Roy
Enrique Rubio
Marcelo Rubio Ubilla
Elizabeth Rumsey
Mélodie Ruvio
Serge Saitta
Marduk Salam
Jordi Savall
Philippe Savoy
Celine Scheen
Clémence Schiltz
Björn Schmelzer
Cosma Sené
William Shelton
Sean Shibe
Nicolas Simon
Luanda Siquiera
Pedro Sousa Silva
Tobias Steinberger
Sylvie Sténuit
Chiara Strabioli
Jean Tabouret
Yaoré Talibart
Jean-Luc Tamby
Giulio Tanasini
Lucile Tessier
Laurent Thomas
Isabella Thorneycroft
Céline Tison
Giulio Tosti
Alice Trocellier
Louis Trognon
Emiliano Turazzi
Kristina Vahrenkamp
Jan Van Elsacker
Léonore Vedie
Dominique Vellard
Manon Viau
Pau Marcos Vicens
Katia Viel
Maya Villanueva
Diana Vinagre
Jonas Vitaud
Jérome van Waerbeke
Eduard Wesly
Oriane Weyl
Teun Wisse
Suzanne Wolff
Julien Wolfs
Mathilde Wolfs
Aliénor Wolteche
Bernard Wolteche
Dominique Wolteche
Miren Zeberio
Jonathan Zehnder
Helena Zemanová
Youna Zilberger
Aniella Zins