Christian Tetzlaff Quartet Cancels U.S. Tour in Protest Over Trump Policies

By Laurie Niles: German violinist Christian Tetzlaff has cancelled an eight-city tour of the United States with his quartet this spring in protest over the Trump administration and its policies, according to the New York Times. The Tetzlaff Quartet was scheduled to perform March 21 in San Francisco; March 22 in Costa Mesa, Calif.; March 23 in Fresno; March 25 at the Yale School of Music in New Haven, Connecticut; March 26 in Albany, N.Y.; March 27 at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall; March 29 at Clayton State University in Morrow, Georgia; and March 30 at University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia. The description on Carnegie Hall's website noted that "The acclaimed German ensemble made its New York debut here in Zankel Hall...(and) has been an enduring favorite ever since." Tetzlaff also is scheduled to perform the Brahms Violin Concerto with the St. Louis Symphony on April 12 and 13. As of this writing, the set of solo performances had not been cancelled on the SLSO website. The New York Times reported that Tetzlaff was "distraught" after a recent performance in Chicago, where he performed the Sibelius Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. "I felt like a child watching a horror film," he told the NYT. "There seems to be a quietness or denial about what’s going on. I feel utter anger. I cannot go on with this feeling inside. I cannot just go and play a tour of beautiful concerts." Tetzlaff said he likely would cancel appearances for the rest of the year in the U.S. but was open to performing benefits in the U.S. for Ukraine or women's rights. Tetzlaff has been performing in the U.S. since 1988 and typically does about 20 engagements a year. * * *

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