WATCH: Toronto Symphony embroiled in free speech debate after cancelling pianist’s engagement
TORONTO – The Toronto Symphony Orchestra says Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 will not be performed tonight and Thursday after it cancelled performances by a Ukrainian-born pianist.
The TSO had said Toronto pianist Stewart Goodyear would play the Rachmaninoff piece after Valentina Lisitsa was told her appearance was cancelled due to “offensive, intolerant comments” she made on social media.
However, in a statement apparently posted by Goodyear on his Facebook fan page late Tuesday, he said he has been “bullied into declining this engagement.”
He said he found himself “in the middle of a social media frenzy” and what was one of the happiest moments of his life turned into a “shattering display of mob hysteria.”
The symphony says ticketholders who attend the concerts to hear Mahler’s Fifth Symphony will get a free ticket to an upcoming concert, while those who don’t wish to attend can request a refund.
Toronto resident and Lisitsa fan Adir Krafman has already received his refund and says he’s disappointed that the TSO dismissed her for her political comments. Krafman says he hopes Lisitsa will play a promised free concert in Toronto, but she tweeted Tuesday night that she has so far been unable to secure a venue.
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