The attempt to pretend that these connections do not exist in the later decades of the 20th century and beyond forms part of the problem with classical music's often self-inflicted irrelevance, treating the art form as if it were untethered to the world and existing only in glitzy concert halls and glossy programmes.
With their manifesto of activism and social justice, the orchestra asserts that the ensemble is not a sacred object of beauty, but a tool for struggle.
The group pursues this mission through civil disobedience, outreach in schools, demonstrations, and concerts aimed at presenting a different kind of classical music reconnected to reality.
The ensemble stood as the last people playing during student demonstrations in the country, continuing their performance as gas canisters landed in double-bass cases.
The orchestra's approach contrasts with the Scratch Orchestra's experimentalism, which pursued an aesthetic of radical inclusion socially, musically, and aesthetically rather than polished perfection.
The ensemble is not an orchestra trying to find hermetically sealed concert halls to perform in perfect acoustics.
The attempt to pretend that these connections don’t exist in the later decades of the 20th century and beyond is part of the problem with classical music’s often self-inflicted irrelevance, as if the art form were untethered to the world around it, existing only in glitzy concert halls and glossy programmes.
The ONM’s performances and protests, and the police’s reaction to them, is a wake-up call to remind classical music where it comes from – and yes, to reconnect it to today’s realities.