Fabio Luisi distances himself from the Echo Klassik
The awarding of an industry prize, the Echo, to a gangsta rap duo has also triggered unrest in the classical music industry. Martin Maria Krüger, President of the German Music Council, has announced his resignation from the Ethics Advisory Board. Fabio Luisi, General Music Director of Zurich Opera House, has also distanced himself.
In a press release from Zurich Opera House, Luisi, who was awarded an Echo Klassik in 2009, explains that, like other colleagues, he must now "distance himself from this award in no uncertain terms". The awarding of the Echo to the rappers Kollegah and Farid Bang is completely unacceptable in his eyes.
The two musicians had not simply crossed a line or provoked within the framework of artistic freedom, but had "mockingly processed the terrible experiences of millions of people during National Socialism in their lyrics". It is shocking to realize that a cultural prize "knows no ethical standards, tolerates racism and ignorant content and even awards it if only the sales figures are right".
Martin Maria Krüger, President of the German Music Council, has announced his resignation from the Ethics Advisory Board. He is convinced that the Echo-winning production by the rapper duo Kollegah and Farid Bang violates ethical principles "in an intolerable and repulsive way", which are emphatically shared by all those involved in the advisory board and the organizations they represent. Pianist Igor Levit and the Notos Quartet, among others, have returned their Echo in protest.
In their award-winning album "Jung, Brutal, Gutaussehend 3", the rap duo use passages such as "My body more defined than by Auschwitz inmates" or "Do another Holocaust, come on with the Molotov".
