Pianist sues Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for cancelling his concert allegedly over Gaza stance (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by maniacalmanicmania@aussie.zone to c/news@aussie.zone

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Witness by Connor D'Netto is available for purchase through Bandcamp.

All proceeds from the Bandcamp release will be donated to Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA) para.org.au

As noted by @tombruzzo@aussie.zone in the comments Bandcamp Fridays (where Bandcamp waives their revenue share and pass the funds directly to artists & labels) ~~starts at 5pm AEST Friday Oct 4 and goes for 24 hours~~ is on. If someone knows exactly when it ends I can update this post.

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[-] Ilandar@aussie.zone 7 points 1 month ago

It was only political in the sense that Israel/Palestine is a political issue and referencing it at all is often labelled a "political" act. I've read the actual transcript of the speech and it was just stating statistics related to the theme of the piece. I am a little surprised he is suing though, he sounded more bemused than upset at the time and I thought it would be something they'd just put behind them after the backflip and investigation from the MSO.

[-] zero_gravitas@aussie.zone 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I am a little surprised he is suing though, he sounded more bemused than upset at the time and I thought it would be something they’d just put behind them after the backflip and investigation from the MSO.

Gillham said at the time that he was "grateful" the incident had "put the plight of Palestinian journalists in the spotlight" (source). So I think it's possible he's using the opportunity of legal action to generate publicity for the issue.

The potential chilling effect that the MSO's actions could have on artists less able to defend themselves also makes it worth pursuing.