The Cure keyboardist Robert O’Donnell has commemorated conductor Yuriy Kerpatenko who was killed in the Russian-held Ukrainian city of Kherson. At the concert in Hamburg on October 16, he had attached a sign with the musician’s name to his instrument. He later dedicated a post to the murdered musician on Instagram. “Remember that name,” O’Donnell wrote.
“Before the show in Hamburg last night, I heard that the Russians shot a conductor because he refused to play a concert in Kherson. I don’t know why but it touched me, I know I wouldn’t be so brave and that’s why Ukraine will win you know,” O’Donnell wrote. So I wrote his name on my keyboard and with the help of my friend Daria Hlazatova we will try to do something for his family.”
The city of Kherson has been under Russian control since the beginning of the Ukraine war in February 2022. However, Ukraine is currently trying to recapture the region. Kerpatenko was the chief conductor of the City Theater. Again “Guardians” reported that he had refused to conduct a concert with which the occupiers wanted to demonstrate “peaceful life” in the city. He was then shot dead by Russian soldiers in his home.
