Performance in the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia by piano player Polina Osetinskaya has been cancelled, she herself shared on Instagram.
“I’ve just arrived in Petersburg. I’ve just received a phone call and been told that I wouldn’t be playing the Beethoven triple concerto in the Philharmonia tomorrow anymore. I think that everyone knows the reason why. Thank you for your attention,” she wrote.
Currently, her name is not featured in the announcement on the Philharmonia website. According to RTVI, the previous version of the announcement, featuring Osetinskaya’s name, can be viewed on the web archive.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the pianist came out in support of Ukraine. Furthermore, she shared the open letter of the Russian NGOs asking for the end of the war.
For the last several months, performances and concerts by artists that had come out against the war have been getting cancelled in Russia. At the beginning of July, Russian outlet Fontanka published a list of “banned musical artists” that concert organisers are expected to not conduct business with.
For example, Russian band Krovostok announced the cancellation of their Moscow concert due to pressure from the authorities, while another Russian band Anacondaz had to reschedule their concerts for the same reason.
Concerts of band Splean were cancelled in two Russian cities after they had dedicated a song to the Russians that had to leave Russia during a recent performance. Frontwoman of band AloeVera said that law enforcement agents paid a visit to the owner of the concert venue where her band had played a “secret” concert.
