Russian composer Peter Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893). His works include six symphonies and three piano concertos, only two of which are finished, a violin concerto and eleven operas. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The Eurovision Song Contest says Russia can not compete. Here Ukrainian singer Jamala, who won the event in 2016 and who fled the war in her country, performs her winning song, '1944', in Berlin.
The Royal Opera House in London has cancelled performances by the Bolshoi Ballet. Getty Images
World-famous conductor Valery Gergiev lost three key roles in 24 hours after he refused to condemn Vladimir Putin’s attacks on Ukraine. AFP
The Venice Biennale will not feature a Russian pavilion. Getty Images
Several film studios have delayed the release of their movies in Russia, including Warner Bros' 'The Batman'. Photo: Warner Bros Pictures
The Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra on Thursday came under fire for its decision to remove works by Russian composer Tchaikovsky from its programme of concerts amid the war in Ukraine.
The CPO had said it would be "inappropriate at this time" for Russia's putative greatest composer to feature "in light of the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine" but the cancellation has sparked a widespread censure.
Fay Jones, the Conservative MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, tweeted:
Conductor and composer Debbie Wiseman struck a more conciliatory tone in a BBC interview, although still made her opposition to the decision clear.
"I can understand on one hand why the members of the Cardiff Philharmonic would feel uncomfortable and it's inappropriate to play this music but it's very hard when you start targeting historical figures like Tchaikovsky or Russian composers," she said.
Tchaikovsky adored Ukraine
John Suchet, Classic FM presenter
"You can't tar everyone with the same brush. For me personally I think it's very hard to find a standpoint. You don't want to bring every Russian into the argument for the sins of their leader. I would personally try not to bring historical elements into what is today's war."
Ms Wiseman is the composer in residence on the UK commercial radio station Classic FM, and one of its presenters, John Suchet, pointed out one of the ironies of the cancellation.
"Tchaikovsky adored Ukraine," said Mr Suchet, who has also written a biography of the Swan Lake composer.
"He frequently stayed on his sister's estate there, and at the estate of his patron Nadezhda von Meck. He would be weeping at what is happening. Not just a useless gesture, but wrong."
British comedian Mark Steel took a more humorous approach to lampoon the move.
The opprobrium is unlikely to lead to the temporary ban being lifted.
Cardiff Philharmonic director Martin May released a statement explaining the stance – which relates specifically to the militaristic 1812 Overture and the 'Little Russian' of Symphony No 2 – although he acknowledged its controversy.
"A member of the orchestra has family directly involved in the Ukraine situation and we are trying to respect that situation during the immediate term," he said.
"While there are no plans to repeat the Tchaikovsky concert at the moment, we have no plans to change our summer and autumn programmes which contain pieces by Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev and Rimsky-Korsakov.
"So this is a one-off decision made with the best of intentions and there is no intention to exclude Tchaikovsky in particular. He is one of my favourite composers. We are aware that, whatever decision we made it would not go down well, so we are stuck between a rock and a hard place."
Munich mayor Dieter Reiter said the decision was made after Gergiev, who had been the chief conductor since the 2015-16 season, did not respond to his calls to rethink and revise his very positive assessment of the Russian leader.
Gergiev's resignation as honorary president of the Edinburgh International Festival was "asked for and accepted" by the event's board of trustees last month.
A statement on the festival's website said: "Edinburgh is twinned with the city of Kyiv and this action is being taken in sympathy with, and support of, its citizens."
Gergiev has also been dropped from the Vienna Philharmonic's five-concert US tour and his management company said on Sunday it will no longer represent him.
The Rotterdam Philharmonic in the Netherlands also cut ties with Gergiev. It said "an unbridgeable divide" between the orchestra and conductor on the issue of the Russian invasion became clear after speaking to him.
Soprano Anna Netrebko withdrew from her future engagements at the Metropolitan Opera rather than repudiate her support for Mr Putin, costing the company one of its top singers and best box-office draws.
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers
Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.
It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.
The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.
Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.
He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”
A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.
Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.
Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.
Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.
By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.
Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.
In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”
Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.
She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.
Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
FIXTURES
Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan
The top two teams qualify for the World Cup
Classification matches
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.
Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place play-off
Monday's results
UAE beat Bahrain by 51 runs
Qatar beat Maldives by 44 runs
Saudi Arabia beat Kuwait by seven wickets
ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- Margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars
- Energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- Infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes
- Many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts
Key products and UAE prices
iPhone XS
With a 5.8-inch screen, it will be an advance version of the iPhone X. It will be dual sim and comes with better battery life, a faster processor and better camera. A new gold colour will be available. Price: Dh4,229
iPhone XS Max
It is expected to be a grander version of the iPhone X with a 6.5-inch screen; an inch bigger than the screen of the iPhone 8 Plus. Price: Dh4,649
iPhone XR
A low-cost version of the iPhone X with a 6.1-inch screen, it is expected to attract mass attention. According to industry experts, it is likely to have aluminium edges instead of stainless steel. Price: Dh3,179
Apple Watch Series 4
More comprehensive health device with edge-to-edge displays that are more than 30 per cent bigger than displays on current models.
