PRESS RELEASE
TASS Reports Schiller Institute Tribute in Manhattan; Thousands of Emotional Responses on Schiller YouTube Channel
Dec. 31, 2016 (EIRNS)—TASS journalist Ivan Pil’shchikov reported today on the Schiller Institute Chorus tribute In Memoriam for the victims of the Tu-154 crash. A machine translation, slightly edited, reads in part:
"Americans sang the national anthem of the Russian Federation at the Consulate General in New York in memory of the victims of the Tu-154 crash.
"About two dozen Americans on Friday brought flowers to the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in New York, and performed at the entrance the Russian national anthem in memory of the victims of the Tu-154 crash on Dec. 25.
"The members of the choir of the international Schiller Institute first sang in German an excerpt from Cantata No. 140 by Johann Sebastian Bach, and then the national anthem of the Russian Federation—in Russian. Many had pinned [black and orange St. George’s] ribbons on their clothes. Some passers-by stopped to watch what was happening.
"Classical culture lifts people to a new level", stated Schiller Institute spokesman Daniel Burke. According to him, members of the choir believe that musicians from the Alexandrov Ensemble, who died in the crash, "were close to them in spirit." "We embraced the incident very seriously,"
said Burke.
Institute representatives also read a letter of condolence to the Russians, prepared by its President Helga Zepp-LaRouche.
"The tragedy of this disaster is, in particular, that the music and patriotic spirit of the Alexandrov Ensemble would strengthen hope in the Syrians"
she said in her letter.
"It is the people, who for five years had suffered because of the criminal policy in order to effect regime change and had become a plaything in the geopolitical games in violation of the sovereignty of the state."
"Zepp-LaRouche noted that the band embodied the "high moral values of Russia." The letter, explained Burke, was transferred to the Consulate General representatives.
Among those who brought flowers to the building, was the president of the Russian Center in New York, Elena Branson. She said she was moved by the action. "The works were executed perfectly," she said. "When they sang the national anthem, even almost no accent was heard."
The Schiller YouTube channel’s video of the chorus singing the Russian national anthem has garnered over a 300,000 viewers as of this afternoon; there are some 1900 comments mostly from Russians. Almost all are extremely grateful, and many very emotional, praising the singers and pledging friendship among the Russian and American people.
Among other Russian coverage, Rossiya 24 TV, lenta.ru, vesti.ru, rusvesna.su and perhaps others also reported on the event and ran the Schiller video in whole or in part.
