The celebrated Polish composer Paweł Szymański has issued the following statement. The piece that was heard in place of Szymański's it's fine, isn't it? was Arvo Pärt's Fratres. It would be interesting to know what Pärt thinks of this substitution.
I want to inform all who are interested that the program of the concert at the National Philharmonic in Warsaw on 20 November 2021 has been censored (organized as part of the third Eufonie International Festival of Central and Eastern Europe). As a result of these censorial activities, my piece it's fine, isn't it? for flute and orchestra, to be premiered last night, was taken off of the program.
On 12 November 2021, I was contacted (informally, in private conversation) with a request that I remove from the work mentioned above a sound clip to be played from a portable boom box, which forms an integral part of the piece. That clip contains a snippet from a public statement by Jarosław Kaczyński (leader of the ruling political party): "We won't be made to say that white is white and black is black."
I understand this to indicate self-censoring of the work. I have no influence on censoring activities by third parties; however, extracting them with my own hands is certainly no norm for me. On second thought, I accepted my interlocutor's argument that some people involved in performing the piece could feel implicated against their preferences with a politically satirical message, with my piece as the medium. Therefore (and despite the fact that the content of the piece is solely the composer's responsibility), bearing in mind good interpersonal relations, I reached a solution that was a wide-ranging compromise (in particular, a compromise made with myself). I proposed that for the premiere performance (on 20 November 2021), the clip that has been mentioned containing the Kaczyński quote be replaced by another sound clip saying "Text here has been removed by self-censorship."
For days I awaited a reaction to the compromise I proposed; at last, two days before the premiere, I received an e-mail sent from a private mailbox: "Paweł, with the organizers we've made the uncomfortable decision to remove your flute concerto from the program of the concert on 20 November 2021." To my message that "I await precise, formal information as to who specifically has made the decision to cancel the premiere performance of it's fine, isn't it? and what the reason was," I have received no answer.
Several reflections come to mind:
- Despite the fact that Poland's constitution assures freedom of expression and forbids preventive censorship (Article 54) and grants freedom of artistic endeavor (Article 73), censorship actually still exists. The decision as to what can be said in public (shown, played, etc.) is made by unspecified, undisclosed parties operating by undefined rules. There are entire volumes written describing such informal censorial activities.
- Quotes from Jarosław Kaczyński are also subject to censorship.
- Information about applying censorship is also subject to censorship — we remember this too well from the previous era. Censors don't want to be accused of censorship.
- As it turns out, even the information about applying self-censorship is subject to censorship. This is implied by the fact that the compromise proposal I've mentioned above was not accepted. When by the very course of nature the only person a maker can accuse of self-censorship is themself.
- Censorship activities expand: they now encroach on the field of music.
There's an additional aspect: the affected person in this turmoil is the soloist, Łukasz Długosz, the flute virtuoso who put much work and his talent into preparing the demanding solo part. That he could not present this in front of an audience is only because someone, in a free, democratic country, is scared of the term "self-censorship."
During last night's concert, a voice announcing from the loudspeakers informed the audience that my piece would not be performed and would be replaced by a different one — giving no reason. It's fine, isn't it?
Paweł Szymański, November 21, 2021
(translated by volunteers)
