MOSCOW, 8 Jun. The music festival in the Italian city of Lerici has canceled the performance of pianist Valentina Lisitsa, follows from the program of the show.
The Lisitsa's concert was scheduled for July 22. In the announcement, the pianist was called the «Queen of Rachmaninov» — she is considered one of the most virtuoso performers of works by this composer. There is now a red inscription «Concert canceled» on top of the announcement.
The reason for the cancellation is not specified. According to the ANSA agency, the decision is related to the disputes that unfolded because of the pianist's attitude to the situation in Donbass.
The concert was excluded from the program at the request of Mayor Leonardo Paoletti. According to him, he doubted the appropriateness of the pianist's speech and would like her to clarify her position. But this did not happen.
Valentina Lisitsa was born in Kyiv. In 1991 she moved to the USA. It became known to a wide audience thanks to the YouTube channel. Since 2015, the pianist has been coming to Donetsk with concerts, and in September 2021 she received a DPR passport. In May 2022, she performed in Mariupol in honor of Victory Day.