On Sunday an orchestra of about 200 professional and amateur classical musicians – conducted by Russian-British pianist Petr Limonov – assembled in London’s Trafalgar Square for a musical protest against the war in Ukraine.
The classical flashmob was organised by Juliet Barclay, 63, in just four days. “Everybody’s so committed; so mutually supportive; so passionate about Ukraine,” she told Rising East. “We felt very passionate that we had to pay a musical tribute to the bravery and the determination of these people and express our hope for their future.”
The atmosphere in the square when I arrived was peaceful and calm, in spite of the fact that people from all over the world had gathered to protest against the war. A lot of families came, with their little children covered in the blue and yellow colours of the Ukrainian flag.
The volunteer orchestra performed “Hymn 2001” by the Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov, who is believed to be in Kyiv while it is under attack. The musicians also played the Ukrainian national anthem and Mykola Lysenko’s prayer for Ukraine, which the audience sang along to.
Before the flashmob kicked off at 3 pm there was a protest that began in Westminster, made its way past Downing Street and ended in Trafalgar Square.
One of the politicians who addressed the protesters was ex Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. The protest’s three demands included the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and an end to NATO expansion. But as far as I could see the main concern on Sunday was the threat of nuclear war. Many of the placards were against nuclear weapons and the prospect of Russia using them against Ukraine and against the whole world.
