Germany hosts concerts to benefit Ukrainians

The programs often include such compositions as "Prayer for Ukraine," by Valentyn Silvestrov, who wrote the choral piece during the Euromaidan protests in Kyiv in 2014. Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula toward the end of the demonstrations — an early harbinger of the invasion of Ukraine.

Friday, April 1, in Cologne

A peace concert at the Cologne Cathedral, which will also be livestreamed, is intended to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine, the organizers write on the website. The program includes "Grant Us Thy Peace" by Felix Mendelssohn, Silvestrov's "Prayer for Ukraine" and other Ukrainian compositions. "We disapprove of any warlike confrontation and want to send a signal against the war started by Putin and the Russian military," Cologne Cathedral music director Eberhard Metternich is quoted as saying. The free choral concert is combined with an appeal for donations to the German Caritas charity.

Four choirs, with a total of about 250 singers, will be participating. Some of the singers have Ukrainian roots. "All our sympathy goes out to them and their families at the moment, most of whom have relatives in cities like Kharkiv and Kyiv," Metternich said. An aid campaign was launched three weeks ago. Donations, including hygiene items for mothers and children, as well as baby food, were taken to the Poland-Ukraine border.

Saturday, April 2, in Munich

Munich's Ukrainian Greek Catholic community choir will perform at a choir concert in the Bavarian capital. The Cathedral Choir, Junge Domkantorei, the Bavarian Radio Choir and Tölzer Knabenchor and its soloists are also scheduled to perform in the Frauenkirche.

The charity event's message of peace is reflected in the program: Arvo Pärt's "Da pacem, Domine" and compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach, Cesar Franck and Mendelssohn. Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the archbishop of Munich and Freising, and Bohdan Dzyurakh, the bishop from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, will attend the concert.

The event is free, starts at 6:30 p.m. and will be streamed. The proceeds will go to the Bavarian charity Sternstunden, which helps children.

Sunday, April 3, in Berlin

The Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine will perform at Konzerthaus Berlin on Sunday at 8 p.m. Some of its members were evacuated from Ukraine — various efforts were made to get the young musicians out of the country, including calls for donations. The orchestra plans to play pieces by Haydn, Hindemith, Stravinsky and others. The orchestra, led by renowned conductor Oksana Lyniv, is made up of 12-to-22-year-old musicians from all over Ukraine. Lyniv and her orchestra were among the first to stage a musical protest against the invasion on February 24.

Leipzig Bach Festival artistic director Michael Maul had invited the Ukraine Youth Symphony Orchestra for a performance in June. In an interview with DW in early March, he said, however, that some of the musicians were defending their country, some were hiding in bunkers, and others were on the run. At least part of the group managed to leave for Slovenia in March, and will now be playing in Germany.

Monday, April 4, in Bonn

The Beethoven-Haus Foundation in Bonn, the famous composer's birthplace, has set up the "Hope for Peace" aid fund. The donations are earmarked for musicians from Ukraine, including housing costs. The musicians will also be able to rehearse and continue their work at the city's dedicated Beethoven venue, which also plans to promote musical encounters. "We want to contribute to understanding between those affected by the conflict regions and provide space for Russian and Ukrainian music in particular, which can contribute to a culture of peace," Beethoven-Haus director Malte Boecker said in a press release.

Along with the appeals for donations, the Beethoven-Haus is organizing a series of benefit concerts that begin on Monday, featuring Philipp Scheucher, a pianist who received the 2021 Beethoven-Haus-Prize. Vadim Neselovskyi, a Ukrainian jazz pianist, is scheduled to give the next concert at the end of April.

This article was originally written in German.