Conductor Oksana Lyniv is internationally recognized as a leading cultural representative of her homeland, Ukraine. In 2021 she became the first woman to direct at the famous Bayreuth Festival. In the following interview, he expressed feelings of inability but also determination to do everything he can to oppose the war and improve the situation for Ukrainians. He spoke to DW from Rome, Italy.
Deutsche Welle: What is the situation in your hometown of Brody, near Lviv?
My parents and my brother are there. Attacks took place on the second day of the war. My mother and her twin sister, my aunt, are hiding by candlelight in our root cellar. The young children of our family have been transported further away, to the Carpathian Mountains, to stay with friends, where it is safe. My father, a choir director, continues to give concerts with his choir. They sing Ukrainian songs to boost people’s mood.
Are you afraid for your family?
I’m not just afraid for my family. I am afraid for my country, for my fellow human beings, for my nation. I’m also afraid of the places I work – Lviv, whose city center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the National Opera in Odessa. This war knows no rules. the worst part is that it no longer even concerns political issues. The Russian state wants to destroy the Ukrainian nation.
Lviv is trying to protect its cultural treasures. For example, wooden sculptures from the Armenian Cathedral have been hidden in warehouses. The last time this happened was during World War II. My colleagues from the music scene are either in the army or helping refugees. But the Ukrainians’ desire for freedom remains unbroken.
You wrote an open letter to President Putin. Why was this gesture important to you?
I wrote this letter symbolically to Putin, but in reality it is an appeal to all Russians who support this war through their silence. I wrote: “Putin, I want you to understand that man is not a physical body but a spirit first and foremost.” Ukraine has gathered incredibly, from Kharkov in the east to Lviv in the west, young and old. People face Russian tanks in front without protection or weapons.
Prior to the invasion, President Putin gave a speech to the nation in which he more or less denied the right of Ukraine to exist as a separate cultural nation.
What he said was complete nonsense. Ukrainian culture is many centuries older than Russian. That’s why he hates Ukrainians: Without Ukraine he can not explain the origin of Russia. Russia of Kiev [a medieval federation covering modern-day Ukraine, Belarus and parts of western Russia: Eds.] is the cradle of our culture. However, Russian discrimination against Ukrainian culture also has a long tradition. took place even in the tsarist empire. It was this strategy that led to this war.
Many people are currently leaving Ukraine, including musicians from the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, which you founded. How do they deal with things?
“Music for Future”, a kind of camp, is currently being set up in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Young Ukrainian musicians are evacuated here, both from my orchestra, which was created in 2017 with the participation of Deutsche Welle, the Beethovenfest Bonn and the German National Youth Orchestra, as well as other talented musical children and young people. About 100 have already arrived.
What is so awful is that schools and music schools are also being destroyed in this war, leaving the new generation without perspective. That is why it is so important for me to support at least some young artists, to create conditions so that they do not stop making music. We intend to invite members of leading European orchestras to Ljubljana so that they can teach young Ukrainian musicians. For this generation, music is often the last thread that connects it to our homeland.
The current wave of support for Ukraine, with the Ukrainian national anthem being heard everywhere and every major building in the world being illuminated in Ukrainian national colors – all well and good, but what about in six months or a year? When no one can study, when structures are destroyed? We must not allow Ukrainian culture to be destroyed. The cultural front is at least as important as the real front.
We are seeing a heated debate about whether Russian artists should be sanctioned as well. Currently, young Russian musicians are excluded from competitions and performances by Russian artists are boycotted. What is your position?
I understand that it is a matter of debate, but artists are representatives of their state. Sure, they can distance themselves from what the state does, but unfortunately very few do, which is also true of the artists with whom I have shared the stage. There are some, such as opera director Dmitry Chernyakov or conductor Vladimir Yurovsky, who have clearly spoken out against the war and against Putin’s policies. Others, who may have been afraid to speak in public, wrote to me in private. But when you see a nation as big as Russia, their number is negligible. Unfortunately.
I know there are harsh punishments for every word spoken against the war in Russia, but I must urge Russian artists: Raise your voices! If you do not, the blood of innocent victims will be in your hands.
Editor’s note: This article has been translated from German. The German original was examined by representatives of Oksana Lyniv before it was published.
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