Controversy claims pianist
SYMPHONY: ‘Bullied’ into dropping out, Toronto soloist says
TORONTO — A Canadian pianist scheduled to perform with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra to replace a controversial Ukrainian pianist has himself dropped out of the event, saying he was “bullied” into declining.
On his Facebook fan page, Toronto musician Stewart Goodyear says he found himself “in the middle of a social media frenzy” with words of “bile and hatred” hurled at him from all sides.
Goodyear was to perform a Rachmaninoff concerto with the TSO after it dropped Valentina Lisitsa over what it called “deeply offensive” remarks she has made on social media.
Goodyear says he was accused of supporting censorship and what began as one of the happiest moments of his life turned into a “shattering display of mob hysteria.”
The TSO dropped the work entirely from the program and offered refunds to ticket holders.
Lisitsa, an ethnic Russian born in Ukraine who now lives in the U.S., says she has been accused of “inciting hatred” on Twitter because of her comments on the conflict in Ukraine.
Lisitsa says she has been speaking out against the “atrocities” of the civil war, particularly those committed against the Russian minority in Ukraine.
In an interview with a Russian television network, Lisitsa says she has always separated music from politics.
“Partially I think it was my mistake, in a way, because now my tweets have caught up with me,” she says.
Advocates for civil rights warn this is part of a troubling phenomenon that could lead artists to more selfcensorship.
In a Facebook post, Goodyear says being asked to perform Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Piano Concerto in Toronto with the TSO was a dream come true. “Yesterday, my dream was shattered,” he says.