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Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) was in South Africa in May and June 1962 to conduct his music in a series of concerts with the South African Broadcasting Orchestra in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town. Stravinsky's decision to conduct in South Africa was controversial, since the South African government was violently repressing demonstrations and enforcing strict apartheid policies of racial discrimination. However, the concert series also included a concert for black South Africans in Kwa Thema, a township near Johannesburg. What was Stravinsky's motivation in first asking for a mixed audience concert? How did the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) negotiate Stravinsky's request? What was the political significance of the Kwa Thema concert for black South Africans who attended it? This lecture addresses these questions. It is based on extensive research at the Igor Stravinsky Collection of the Paul Sacher Stiftung and sheds new light on the role of black and Indian South African cultural organisations in the struggle against racial segregation and apartheid. 

unibe-ch.zoom.us/j/63140587186

Meeting-ID: 631 4058 7186

Kenncode: 083099