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CULTURE

Only Russian soloists: Ukraine ambassador boycotts German concert

Andrij Melnyk, Ukraine's ambassador to Germany, was refused to attend a solidarity concert hosted by the German President because all of the soloists were Russian.

Published: 27 March 2022 20:12 CEST
The Berlin Philharmonie building hosted a solidarity concert but all the soloists were Russian.
The Berlin Philharmonie building hosted a solidarity concert but all the soloists were Russian. (Photo by BARBARA SAX / AFP)

Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany on Sunday boycotted a solidarity concert hosted by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, protesting that the soloists featured on the programme were all Russians.

The concert, performed by the renowned Berlin Philharmonic, was broadcast nationally, with compositions by Polish, Russian and Ukrainian composers played by Belarusian, German, Russian and Ukrainian musicians.

But Andrij Melnyk, Kyiv’s outspoken envoy, pointed out that the soloists — pianist Evgeny Kissin and baritone Rodion Pogossov were both Russians.

“In the middle of a war against civilians! An affront. Sorry I’m staying away,” wrote Melnyk on Twitter.

The president’s spokeswoman Cerstin Gammelin voiced regret over the ambassador’s decision.

She pointed out that central to the programme was renowned Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov, 84, who had sought refuge in Berlin.

Not only were his works played at the opening and end of the concert, he himself performed the pieces “which he composed during the terrible flight”, she wrote on Twitter.

But the Ukrainian ambassador would not be moved.

“My god, why is it so hard for the president to see that as long as Russian bombs are falling on cities and thousands of civilians are murdered day and night, us Ukrainians have no desire for ‘great Russian culture’,” he retorted.

Melnyk has minced no words in rallying Germany to the side of his country.

Over the last weeks, he has been ubiquitous on political talk shows, also making his case in lengthy interviews to Germany’s biggest media outlets.

In his latest interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung published Sunday, Melnyk painted an unflattering picture of his conversations with some German ministers over Russia’s war.

Finance Minister Christian Lindner, he revealed, had said it was pointless to send Ukraine weapons or keep Russian banks out of SWIFT, as he assessed that Kyiv “only has a few hours” left before Russia took charge.

“It was the worst conversation in my life,” Melnyk told the newspaper, which billed him “the most unusual ambassador of all time”.

Member comments

  1. Can’t help thinking he has a point here. German ministers could certainly be doing more than they are to help Ukraine.

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CULTURE

Barbaras Rhabarberbar: How a German tongue-twister became an unlikely viral hit

A tongue-twisting German rap about rhubarb has become the latest unlikely musical hit to storm the internet, racking up millions of views and inspiring a viral dance routine.

Published: 19 June 2024 09:06 CEST
Barbaras Rhabarberbar: How a German tongue-twister became an unlikely viral hit

The song by musical comedian Bodo Wartke was first posted on YouTube in December 2023, but took off earlier this year thanks to a dance video made by two Australian students.

In May, the track briefly reached number 12 in the TikTok music charts, ahead of US R&B superstar Beyonce.

The charm lies in the song’s tongue-twisting title, “Barbaras Rhabarberbar” (Barbara’s Rhubarb Bar) — a bit like the German equivalent of “She sells sea shells”.

The song tells the story of Barbara, a woman famous for her rhubarb cakes who decides to open a bar in her village.

As the song goes on, Barbara is joined by an ever-growing cast of people whose names add to the tongue-twister — such as barbarians and barbers.

Wartke, 47, teamed up with German content creator Marti Fischer to make the video, the two men taking turns at the microphone to recite the tricky lyrics.

47 million views

Wartke is delighted with the unexpected success of the song, though he admits he doesn’t actually like rhubarb very much, “except when it’s made into a crumble or jam with strawberries”.

“Even in our wildest dreams, we could never have imagined such success,” said Wartke, who has been performing as a cabaret artist in Germany, Austria and Switzerland for 27 years.

“Barbara’s Rhubarb Bar” has racked up more than 47 million views on TikTok and has been translated into several languages.

It has also inspired all manner of copycat dance videos, including underwater, on ice skates and on rollerblades.

Wartke, who performs comic songs on the piano, once wanted to be a German teacher and has a penchant for a linguistic challenge.

He has recorded several other songs based on tongue-twisters, such as “Fischers Fritz fischt frische Fische” (“Fisherman Fritz catches fresh fish”).

“Until now, I always thought I was talking to a German audience. I thought you had to understand the meaning to appreciate it,” said Wartke, who grew up in northern Germany but now lives in Berlin.

“But apparently this kind of alliteration combined with hip-hop has an appeal beyond the meaning of the words,” he said.

READ ALSO: 8 German tongue-twisters to leave your mouth in knots 

Image problem 

Wartke hopes the song will do something positive for the image of the German language around the world.

“Lots of people think that Germans have no sense of humour, don’t know how to have fun and that German is an aggressive language,” he said.

“Now they’re reconsidering their prejudices, which I am delighted about. People write to me saying that our song has made them want to learn our language.”

As if to dispel any last perceptions that Germans are serious and boring, Wartke and Fischer have posted a video of themselves doing the dance, with Wartke wearing a pink suit.

“Dancing is not our speciality at all, we had to do a lot of practising,” he said.

Buoyed by their success, the duo are thinking of taking a Barbara-based comedy routine on tour to non-German-speaking countries.

“The songs would remain in German but we would present them in English,” Wartke said.

There has even been talk of the Eurovision Song Contest — and with Germany having finished in last place in 2022 and 2023, Barbara could only raise the bar.

By Céline LE PRIOUX

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