La Voz de Galicia – June 19, 2020 →
There are different ways of living and of understanding things, but it is very curious to see the way in which governments and cultural organizations deal with opening their doors to celebrate artistic events. Last week, while I was in New York, the news came out that the New York Philharmonic, one of the most prestigious orchestras in the country, will cancel its season until January 2021, something that the Metropolitan Opera had also done a few days before. These two organizations, along with others like Carnegie Hall, due to security reasons and social responsibility, had already taken the initiative to close their buildings in March, hours before New York’s state and local authorities prompted closings in an official manner.
This week I also read the news that the orchestra Panorama, one of the best known in Galicia, decided to cancel its summer season because, among other things, they prefer «not to encourage possible crowding due to its performances.» The Xunta de Galicia, the state government of this autonomous community, stated that local festivities could return as of July 1 if they followed the access and security protocols, and Panorama made its own decision based on economic impact and social responsibility.
These are two completely different ways of understanding music, but they are as important and necessary as the rest of the kinds of music and cultural manifestations that make up our lives. And perhaps this could be an opportunity to appreciate again small forums and to return to culture as a tool of social development.
And now that we welcome summer, I simply hope and wish that we will be incredibly responsible so that the opening of festivities and concerts do not bring with them more grief.
