MSO cancels concert over safety concerns; says cancellation of pianist an ‘error’

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra has cancelled a concert over ‘safety concerns’ following pianist Jayson Gillham’s Israel-Gaza statement, and says it was an ‘error’ to cancel his performance earlier in the week.

Australian-British pianist Jayson Gillham.

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The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra has cancelled a concert due to “safety concerns” and, in a stunning about-face, said it was an “error” to drop British-Australian pianist Jayson Gillham from the same concert, after he made onstage political comments about the Israel-Gaza conflict.

The MSO said on Thursday it had “sought independent security advice considering events that have occurred since last Sunday’s concert with Jayson Gillham. In light of this advice, the MSO board and management had no option but to cancel the (Thursday night) concert”.

Victoria Police told The Australian it was “unaware of this matter, so (there is) no involvement from us’’.

At a Melbourne concert last Sunday, Gillham said some Palestinian journalists had been intentionally killed by Israeli forces in the Israel-Gaza conflict, while introducing a new composition dedicated to reporters killed in Gaza.

MSO has cancelled a Thursday night appearance by pianist Jayson Gillham.

The MSO swiftly cancelled Thursday night’s scheduled appearance by the pianist, stating: “The MSO does not condone the use of our stage as a platform for expressing personal views.”

The orchestra said Gillham’s comments had caused “offence and distress”, and it planned to proceed with Thursday night’s concert without the pianist, who has performed with Australia’s and the UK’s leading orchestras.

However, the MSO cancelled that concert on Thursday and conceded it was an “error” to ask Gillham “to step back from his performance on Thursday, August 15’’, adding: “We have been engaging constructively with Jayson and his management and are seeking to reschedule the concert.”

Despite this statement, the MSO maintained “a concert platform is not an appropriate stage for political comment’’. The orchestra acknowledged “Jayson’s concerns for those in the Middle East and elsewhere”.

Gillham, who performed at a June fundraising concert at Manchester Cathedral for the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, said on Thursday: “I hold my relationship with the MSO, its players and audience with the highest regard. And look forward to our continued working relationship in years to come.”

On Sunday, while introducing the short, meditative work, Witness, by Australian composer Connor D’Netto, Gillham said: “Over the last 10 months, Israel has killed more than 100 Palestinian journalists. A number of these have been targeted assassinations of prominent journalists as they were travelling in marked press vehicles or wearing their press jackets.

“The killing of journalists is a war crime in international law, and it is done in an effort to prevent the documentation and broadcasting of war crimes to the world.’’

The US-based Committee to Protest Journalists said in August at least 113 journalists and media workers, most of them Palestinian, had been killed during the conflict. Israel has said “there is no policy of targeting media personnel” and blamed the record number of journalist casualties on the size and intensity of its Gaza bombardment.

The Australian understands the MSO’s cancellation of Gillham’s Thursday night appearance caused unrest among some of its musicians. “We recognise the strength of feelings of all parties on this matter and particularly acknowledge the dedication and commitment demonstrated by all our musicians and staff this week,’’ it said on Thursday.