A Russian pianist had his Vancouver gig cancelled, in part, for his own wellbeing, say organizers

By Chris Dart

”A wave of global boycotts reacting to the Russian invasion of Ukraine is prompting Canadian arts organizations to rethink their involvement in projects involving Russian artists, resulting in cancelled performances and awkward policy changes.

Last week, the Vancouver Recital Society announced that they were cancelling an August concert by 20-year-old Russian piano prodigy Alexander Malofeev. They had twice rescheduled performances by Malofeev due to COVID. Recital Society artistic director Leila Getz said it was “probably the most difficult decision I’d ever had to make, and I did it with a very heavy heart.” On Mar. 8, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) announced that they would also be cancelling a series of concerts featuring Malofeev, in part because some OSM musicians refused to play with him.”

Source: CBC Arts