The short clip shared by filmmaker and journalist Whitney Leaming on Twitter is spreading across the internet. For many users, the video conjured up images of hope amid a grotesque humanitarian crisis.
A young boy plays the piano in the lobby of a Kharkiv hotel as unconfirmed reports emerge that Russian troops are advancing… https://t.co/XjgYXvXqnG
—Whitney Leaming (@wleaming) 1645702568000
Several users inquired about the music, while many were seen sending prayers to help improve the situation. “Living at this time, the young boy is playing music composed by Philip Glass,” one netizen said. “The world is a sadder place tonight. Even this boy’s music. Any idea of the name of this room? Sad a little and beautiful too. Sorry I woke you up,” another user chimed in.
The song and the influences
The boy would play “Metamorphosis” by legendary American pianist and composer Philip Glass.
@AmendmentAll @wleaming Metamorphosis: Two by Philip Glass https://t.co/IqFzLeMvaN
— Adam Graham (@gradamthinks) 1645728894000
Whitney Leaming, who shared the video, is a journalist who actively publishes updates on Ukraine in crisis. Polanski’s “The Pianist” is based on the Holocaust memoirs of Polish-Jewish pianist and composer Wladyslaw Szpilman, a survivor of the Holocaust.
The video also reminded Twitter users of Vedran Smailovic, the “cellist from Sarajevo”. During the Siege of Sarajevo in the Bosnian War, Smailovic played the Adagio in G minor by Venetian Baroque composer Tomaso Albinoni in ruined buildings.
Vedran Smailovic in Sarajevo in 1992 during the Bosnian war. (Picture: Wikipedia)
The darkest hours for a long time
Ukraine is under devastating attack from Russia by air, land and sea. Observers believe these are horrible times for the people of Ukraine and the rest of Europe. Incidentally, this is the first time that a major superpower has invaded a neighboring European country since World War II.
So far, hundreds of soldiers and civilians have died in what Germany has called “Putin’s war”. European leaders believe the invasion brought the darkest hours since the 1940s.