Greece Cancels Pro-Putin Pianist’s Concert in Athens

The Athens State Orchestra canceled the performance of pianist Denis Matsuev pursuing nationalist outcry. Credit: StrangeTraveler , CC BY-SA 4.0/Wikipedia

The Athens State Orchestra has canceled a planned performance by Russian pianist Denis Matsuev, a determination that followed wide disapproval connected societal media. Matsuev, a nationalist protagonist of Vladimir Putin and Russia’s annexation of Crimea, has been honored straight by the Russian president, making his show successful Greece highly controversial.

He was 1 of the Russian artists who signed an “open letter” supporting “the presumption of President Vladimir Putin connected Ukraine and Crimea” successful 2014.

Social media absorption to the performance of the Russian pianist

The planned show triggered a swift and organized backlash from the Ukrainian diaspora successful Greece and section activists. The orchestra’s societal media pages were deluged with comments condemning the prime of artist, rapidly raising the illustration of the issue. The menace of an in-person protestation solidified the opposition.

Facing a mounting nationalist relations crisis, the orchestra canceled the lawsuit and issued a statement. It said: “Throughout its galore years of activity, the Orchestra has served creator excellence arsenic good arsenic the values of unfastened dialog and respect that specify the European taste community. Within this framework, it has chosen to set its programming successful effect to the precise caller planetary situation.’

Since Russia’s full-scale penetration of Ukraine successful February 2022, Matsuev has been barred from performing successful galore Western countries owed to his pro-Kremlin stance.

This cancellation reflects a broader European inclination of taste institutions distancing themselves from Russian artists who enactment the war, arsenic activists reason they service arsenic instruments of Russian “soft power.”