Top Ukrainian instrumentalists—among them recent refugees and members of European orchestras outside Ukraine—team up for an 11-city European and American tour in support of Ukrainian artists. Colleagues from Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Odesa, and other homeland locations will join them, laying down their arms to fight the good fight by other means. The touring repertoire includes the 20-minute Symphony No. 7 of the Kyiv native Valentine Silvestrov (born in 1937), favorite symphonies of Brahms and Dvořák, and Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2, with the Ukrainian soloist Anna Fedorova. Likewise on hand: the Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska, to sing the aria “Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin?” from Fidelio, Beethoven’s paean to resistance in the face of tyranny. The baton is in the hand of Keri-Lynn Wilson, a Canadian-Ukrainian conductor. The tour concludes with a two-night stand at the Metropolitan Opera. Some will think it germane to note that Wilson is married to Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager; some will not.
—Matthew Gurewitsch

Travels to: London (July 31), Munich (August 1), Orange (August 2), and more.