German Violinist Christian Tetzlaff Boycotts US

The renowned German violinist Christian Tetzlaff abruptly cancelled his tour of the United States. Tetzlaff cited Trump’s embrace of Russia, his policies regarding transgender people, and Trump’s cuts to the federal workforce as reasons for his tour cancellation.

Die Nachrichten: The German violinist Christian Tetzlaff has become one of the first major foreign artists to boycott the United States in hopes of influencing its administration’s new policies. Tetzlaff, who is based in Berlin, made the announcement following President Trump’s February 28th public spat with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Tetzlaff described his “utter anger” regarding Trump’s policies towards Russia, transgender rights, and cuts to the federal workforce. The Tetzlaff Quartet was scheduled to play in eight-cities, culminating in a Carnegie Hall performance on March 27th.

Ein bisschen mehr…: Christian Tetzlaff, along with other foreign artists, pays 32% taxes to the United States government on each US engagement. The violinist has already boycotted performing in China and Russia due to those government’s policies. He expressed that he would be open to playing fundraising concerts in the US to benefit Ukraine or women’s rights.

Tetzlaff is something of a musical thought leader. In 2022/2023, he was a Portrait Artist at London’s Wigmore Hall, and has been Artist-in-Residence with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Dresdner Philharmoniker. Let’s see if other foreign artists follow his example in boycotting the Trump administration’s abhorrent policies.

Author
Recent Posts

Sara Schabas

Sara Schabas is a Dora-nominated soprano, writer and yoga teacher. She has performed and created leading roles with companies including Vancouver Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, the Dayton Opera, and Aspen Opera, and is a former member of Barbara Hannigan’s Equilibrium Young Artists. Currently based in Montreal, she is a doctoral student at McGill University — where she recently received the Wirth Vocal Prize — and editor of Art Song Canada magazine.