Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
– W H Auden
In August 2024, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra cancelled pianist Jayson Gillham’s performance over recital comments. The pianist made onstage comments about the killings of Palestinian journalists in Gaza. Jayson Gillham said during a recital: “(During) the last 10 months, Israel has killed more than one hundred 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. 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.”
Is the sacking of a musician by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra MSO at odds with the ICJ ruling not to assist the genocide?
The 19th July 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice establishes that all UN Member States are under an obligation not to recognize Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory and not to render aid or assistance to Israel in maintaining the illegal occupation.
The MSO relies on government funding partners, corporate sponsorship, trusts and foundations, bequests and individual donations. A number of these trusts and organizations have government tax deductible status.
So much for free speech in a democratic society.
UPDATE from aap
A concert pianist suing the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for political discrimination is returning to Australia for a self-presented tour.
Jayson Gillham will tour with UK-based Palestinian-Jordanian pianist Iyad Sughayer, who is making his Australian debut, after the pair met at a fundraiser for Gaza in 2024.
Keys to Life – Two Friends, Two Pianos will tour in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane in July.
Before that, Gillham’s case against the MSO – set to become a test of workplace rights – will be heard in a Federal Court trial expected to run for three weeks in May.
The acclaimed performer is suing the orchestra over the termination of his contract after a performance at an MSO event in 2024, when he performed a solo piece called Witness dedicated to journalists killed in Gaza.
Gillham introduced the piece by saying Israel targeted journalists in an effort to prevent the documentation and broadcasting of war crimes to the world.
Artists should have the right to be themselves onstage and speak about pressing issues of conscience, said Gillham.
“I find that it’s a very important principle and I am seeing it through right to the end,” he said.
“I think the public are on on side, that’s the way it feels to me, and I think we’ll see lots of people excited to come to these concerts as well.“
A trial had been set for March 2025, but was delayed until December after lawyers for the orchestra launched an unsuccessful strikeout application. The hearing is set for May so the MSO can call 20 witnesses.
“All of this has made it drag out longer, made it more more expensive for everyone, and the MSO is spending public money as well,” said Gillham, who has crowdfunded $130,000 for court costs.
The MSO has declined to comment, citing ongoing court proceedings that it has wilfully delayed.
The Keys to Life program will include two-piano pieces by Mozart, Ravel and Debussy, Khachaturian and Chabrier, and the world premiere of a new work by Palestinian-Lebanese composer Houtaf Khoury.
Ian Curr
14 August 2024 updated 25 April 2026
*In addition to the role of journalists who bear witness, the word Witness in Arabic is Shaheed, which also means Martyr.
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