Should I listen to Tchaikovsky

At the opera or ballet?

Should I enjoy his symphonies,

In recordings by the Hallé?

 

The ‘Little Russian’ tests our taste;

Some say it denigrates Ukraine.

And what about the Eighteen-Twelve’s

Bombastic cannon-ball refrain?

 

Divide the artist from his art?

That’s not the point; this artist’s great.

It’s not his fault where he was born;

He stands above the arms of state.

 

Let’s not be bound by origins,

For culture is universal.

The works of such a genius

Deserve maximum dispersal.

 

So I shall go and listen to

The beauty of his lilting waltz;

Yet while I sit there mesmerised,

The war still nestles in my thoughts.