Fans attending CPO performance with pianist Valentina Lisitsa met opposition

About 30 protesters gathered outside the Jack Singer Concert Hall on Friday night as patrons made their way into the venue to witness a performance by guest pianist Valentina Lisitsa, along with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.

Lisitsa, an ethnic Russian born in Ukraine who now lives in the United States, has gained much attention for her thoughts on the current Ukrainian government, which she has shared on social media. She has compared President Petro Poroshenko’s government to Nazi Germany, prompting critics to label her tweets anti- Semitic and offensive to other ethnic groups, as well as the disabled.

Anna Zakharova, a Crimean who came to protest the performance, said Lisitsa’s tweets have compared Ukrainians to dog feces.

“Musicians are supposed to praise people, inspire them, not promote hatred,” said Zakharova.

Lisitsa has previously defended her posts as free speech, stating she speaks out against the “atrocities” of the civil war in Ukraine.

“We don’t think that calling an ethnic group ‘pigs’ and ‘dog s---’ is a political view,” said protest organizer Inna Platonova, who came to Canada from Ukraine in 2003 and now lives in Calgary. “We feel insulted. We don’t think freedom of speech should come with no responsibility, especially if it’s a public figure, who many people will look up to as a role model.”

Heather Slater, director of artistic planning for the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, said in the end, Lisitsa’s musical prowess trumped her opinions.

“We understand that a lot of people are offended by her comments. We read the comments and we also appreciate the sensitivity of situations like these,” Slater said. “But as an orchestra, our job is to make music, put on concerts. We engaged her to play the piano, not to speak about politics, music or anything else.”

There was enhanced security outside the concert hall on Friday, according to Slater, as the music hall was expected to fill a capacity of 1,500 guests.

By allowing Lisitsa to perform, the orchestra was “endorsing” her views, said Platonova.

In April, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra cancelled a scheduled performance by Lisitsa, citing her “deeply offensive language.”

But Slater called Lisitsa a “worldclass pianist,” one that Calgary patrons were eager to see.

“In a case like this, there would have been no decision that would have kept us from having some backlash,” she said.

“At the end, we recognize it’s about music. Of course, we support freedom of speech and we also, along those lines, recognized our audience’s freedom of choice. They could come hear this artist or not.”