“This Is a Return to a Future That Once Seemed Impossible”: Maria Kalesnikava Returns to the Big Stage as a Flautist

Reform.news Editorial Team · 12 October 2026, 00:24

https://reform.news/en/this-is-a-return-to-a-future-that-once-seemed-impossible-maria-kalesnikava-returns-to-the-big-stage-as-a-flautist/

Belarusian musician and former political prisoner Maria Kalesnikava has returned to the big stage as a soloist for the first time after a forced five-year hiatus. Her flute was accompanied by a symphony orchestra at the musikprotokoll festival in Graz, Austria.

The event was reported by Kronen Zeitung. In a post on her Facebook page, Kalesnikava described her return to the stage as a solo performer as “a real quantum leap”:

“Just a year ago, I wasn’t sure I would ever return to the stage as a soloist. And now — the world premiere … After more than five years away, playing with a symphony orchestra again and feeling the extraordinary energy of the stage and the audience — I still can hardly believe it’s happening!” the musician wrote.

As the publication notes, after more than five years behind bars, Kalesnikava performed the solo part in Liavon Schwir’s composition “Radiophobia: a silent requiem for Chornobyl” with the ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien and Ukrainian soprano Viktoriia Vitrenko.

“In prison, music was a space of freedom for me: my body was confined, but my mind was free,” Kronen Zeitung quoted Kalesnikava as saying.

After the concert, Maria finally received her honorary doctorate from the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz in person. Two years ago, when she was in detention, only her flute could be brought to the award ceremony. Now, the instrument rang out in the hands of the soloist herself.

“For me, this is not simply a return to my old life. For me, it is a return to a future that until recently seemed impossible,” Maryia concluded.