Fear of Beethoven: Chinese censorship authority investigates the program of a Swiss orchestra Thick air in Chiang Mai: extreme smog in a Thai tourist town

Initially, music manager Christoph Müller from Basel thought it was a joke. But China is not something to be trifled with; for a concert in July with the Basel Chamber Orchestra in Shanghai, the program had to be submitted to the censorship authorities.

What is staged is not a modern opera production where bold images or the plot can irritate the audience, but the program includes purely instrumental works: both a symphony by Ludwig von Beethoven and Felix Mendelssohn and a new work by the Swiss composer. Helena Winkelman, her Simmelibärg Suite for orchestra and accordion. Dangerous sounds, even a dissonance here and there, but the Chinese can be trusted.

Müller, the artistic representative of the chamber orchestra, of which Marcel Falk is the director, became even more colorful when he planned a tour for 2027: then they want to perform Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Choral Fantasy”, a 20-minute work for piano and orchestra, in China, at the end of which a choir sings for four minutes. The first verse reads: “The harmonies of our lives sound flatteringly sweet and sweet, / and the feeling of beauty radiates / flowers that bloom forever.”

You would think it was innocent, but the agency in Singapore asked Müller exactly what kind of text it was. It was already suspected that it was Biblical and alarm bells were ringing. The agent told Müller that there would then be problems with censorship in China. Müller calmed down and presented the simple text in the original. Now it remains to be seen how the censorship authorities in China will respond.

But Müller is concerned: “For the orchestra and me it is bizarre, even frightening, that a purely symphonic program had to be submitted to the censorship authority. But the fact that the text of the choral fantasy now has to be specifically examined irritates me.” KOB director Falk says that everything is going well with the upcoming tour, but it remains strange that a symphonic program is being investigated by any authority.

If a work were to be banned, a fundamental discussion would arise

The agency also asked Müller if the text could be adjusted if necessary. But Müller knows very well that his conductor Giovanni Antonini would never allow even a small change. “Rightly,” says Müller, “you have to fully support an artistic project; If half of it were left out, an orchestra would have to seriously consider whether to perform at all. If a work were to be banned, a major fundamental discussion would arise.”

Apparently China has tightened the censorship. Conductor Paavo Järvi, who often conducted in China, says: “To this day, I have never experienced any case of censorship in China.” And Ilona Schmiel, director of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, never had to submit the works to an authority before Corona; there were never any problems. Michael Haefliger, director of the Lucerne Festival, says the same, adding that Beethoven’s 9th Symphony has also been performed many times in China. This should actually pave the way for choral fantasy.

In July 2024, the Basel Chamber Orchestra plays in Shanghai despite the censorship authorities; this invitation carries too much prestige. Before Corona there was a real rush to China, everyone wanted to see this flourishing classical music world: the new halls, the new audience. And so Europe’s top orchestras took over control of the concert hall in Shanghai. You won’t go home with a profit, but the costs will be covered. In the case of the Basel Chamber Orchestra, no Basel tax money is used for the tour. However, there is a chunk of Pro Helvetia because they are bringing Helena Winkelman’s new work to Asia.

Maurice Steger, Swiss recorder player and conductor, knows the musical life in Far Asia very well, especially because he holds a visiting professorship in Taiwan. He has become more careful with Bible references: when he plays an instrumental arrangement of a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach in China, he no longer mentions what it is about in the program, because then there would inevitably be a Bible quote. .

Should the Stalin Prize winner’s version be sung in China?

But it is not that simple, because the people in China obviously have a lot of specialist knowledge. Certain concertos by JS Bach are based on cantatas. That is why Steger had to inform the authorities that a Bach concerto was not based on a cantata. The program never mentioned that the works had any connection with Christianity.

When Steger played a sonata by baroque composer Francesco Turrini nicknamed ‘Il Corisino’, his translator and advisor advised him to omit the title and simply write ‘Sonata’ in the program. The Zurich resident didn’t know why, especially since we don’t know exactly what this “Corisino”, this little heart, means. But simply: it could be a hidden message.

Will the Chinese also find it in Beethoven’s choral fantasy? If the text actually causes problems, Basel residents could also submit a version that would be welcome in communist China. In 1951, the poet Johannes R. Becher, who received the Lenin Prize (1952) and the Stalin Prize (1953) in the GDR, was commissioned by the Central Council of the GDR youth organization to write a new text for the choral fantasy on the occasion of the World Youth Festival. The result is an ode to peace without any red color. The beginning sets the spirit of the new verses: “Greetings, be welcomed / by the melodies of peace! / Our hearts are still full of fear / clouds are gathering in the sky.”

However, you doubt that the censorship authority could not find hidden messages behind it, as it also says: “Where peoples develop freely / and the voice of peace speaks.” A vicious circle. (aargauerzeitung.ch)