Pianist’s Melbourne recital cancelled after comments on Gaza journalists

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra apologises after Gilham’s recital and says his remarks were made without their approval

An Australian orchestra based in Melbourne cancelled an upcoming performance by pianist Jayson Gillham after he made remarks about Israel’s war in Gaza during a piece dedicated to Palestinian journalists.

The British-Australian pianist, who performed on Sunday, spoke about Israel’s actions against Palestinian journalists, labelling them as “war crimes”.

Before starting the piece at Melbourne’s Iwaki Auditorium in a concert hosted by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO), the 37-year-old Queensland pianist 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,” he added.

“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.”

He was set to perform works by Beethoven, Chopin, and others, including Witness, a 2024 piece by Australian composer Connor D’Netto on Thursday at the Melbourne Town Hall with the MSO. But now MSO has cancelled the show.

Mr D’Netto said “in addition to the role of journalists who bear witness, the word ‘witness’ in Arabic is shaheed, which also means martyr”. He said the five-minute piano solo was dedicated “to the journalists of Gaza”.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent organisation advocating for press freedom, has reported that 113 journalists have lost their lives since the outbreak of the war in Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces have said that while they do not intentionally target journalists, they cannot ensure their safety in Gaza.

Israel launched an air and ground offensive in Gaza following a Hamas attack last October that killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel. Hamas militants also took more than 250 hostages.Israel has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians in Gaza so far, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry. The fighting has displaced nearly 90 per cent of its 2.2 million population, according to the UN, and left around half a million facing starvation.

The MSO stated that Mr Gilham’s remarks, made without their approval on Sunday, intruded on the performance.

While some audience members supported Mr Gillham, the MSO apologised, emphasising that they do not condone the use of their stage for personal political views.

In an email to ticketholders of Sunday’s performance, MSO said: “They (the remarks) were an intrusion of personal political views on what should have been a morning focused on a programme of works for solo piano.

“The MSO does not condone the use of our stage as a platform for expressing personal views.

“The MSO understands that his remarks have caused offence and distress and offers a sincere apology.”

The email noted that Mr D’Netto’s piece was “a late addition to the advertised programme”, included at the request of Mr Gillham.

In a statement to the Guardian, Mr D’Netto said he had written Witness “a few months back” for Mr Gillham.

“I dedicated it to the journalists in Gaza, their bravery and sacrifice had been on my mind a lot.

“The piece isn’t necessarily ‘about’ anything, it is a quite simple, perhaps slightly melancholy, meditative piece.”

He told the outlet that he named it Witness because he was reflecting on social media and how people are being exposed to “horrific images” – not just from Gaza, but from all around the world.

“Our gut reaction might be to look away [but] it is each of our responsibility to at a minimum acknowledge these things.”

A spokesperson for Mr Gillham told the ABC he won’t comment “out of respect to the MSO and his ongoing relationship with them”.

Peter Cotterell, an audience member at Sunday’s recital, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that he didn’t find Mr Gillham’s comments about Witness offensive and noted the piece received massive applause.

He said: “It was simply, what the music was all about and why it was written and a little bit about the composer.

“You can take it any way you like, but it’s certainly not antisemitic and it’s certainly not distressing.”

The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), the union representing musicians, expressed being “disturbed” by the MSO’s decision to sanction Mr Gillham for his comments.

“Musical and artistic expression have long been a vehicle for political commentary and a lens through which we examine the world, and MEAA is concerned that freedom of expression is being compromised across the creative workforce,” an MEAA spokesperson said.

“MEAA members stand in solidarity with Jayson Gillham and with journalists working in Palestine.”

On his X profile, Mr Gilham’s bio reads: “Music may not save the world, but it can remind us what we are fighting to save. May every note ring with the sound of truth and freedom.”

The Independent has reached out to Mr Gilham for comment.