At G-20, Beethoven Sends a Mixed Message to Trump.

[elleng]

2. *That point was also reinforced by the choice of a local orchestra and choir,

with an all-German quartet of soloists. (There wasn’t, for example, the sprinkling of musicians from around the world that the New York Philharmonic’s outgoing music director, Alan Gilbert, included in a recent “Concert for Unity” performance of a Mahler symphony.) For all its invocations of a global brotherhood, Friday’s performance was also a display of German cultural pride not so different from the ceremonial sword dance with which Mr. Trump was honored during a recent visit to Saudi Arabia.

But in this election year in Germany, Ms. Merkel’s decision to put Beethoven at the center of the conference may also resonate with some of her own voters. Since her last victory at the polls, in 2013, she has stunned some of her supporters with her decision to open the country to hundreds of thousands of refugees.'