In Vienna, Austria, the concert of Russian pianist Denis Matsuev, which was planned on February 16 at the Konzerthaus classical music center, was canceled.
The pianist was supposed to perform with a program that included works by Frederic Chopin and Sergei Rachmaninoff.
The reasons for this decision were not given.
At the same time, a statement by the director and artistic director of the Konzerthaus, Matthias Naske, appeared on the venue's website.
It states, without giving specific names, that the organization does not intend to provide a platform for artists and institutions that support the SVO in Ukraine, as well as individuals who contribute to the preservation of the legitimacy of Vladimir Putin's power.
According to the decision of the concert hall management, French pianist Alexander Kantorov, who previously gave charity concerts in support of Ukraine, will perform a piano concert instead of Matsuev in the Great Hall later.
At the same time, performances by Greek-born Russian conductor Teodor Currentzis, artistic director of the annual Diaghilev Festival, are still expected at the venue.
In April 2022, Kantorov and the MusicAeterne Orchestra Currentzis planned to give a charity concert in support of Ukraine, organized by the International Red Cross, but due to the unwillingness of the Ukrainian ambassador to Austria to involve Russian musicians, the event was canceled.
Since the beginning of the special military operation, a number of other organizations have also broken off cooperation with the pianist.
Back in September 2022, the artist's performance with the Mariinsky Theater Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Valery Gergiev was canceled in Japan.
Then the special representative of the Russian president for international cultural cooperation, Mikhail Shvydkoy, criticized this decision.
“This is an unwise decision.
Because they support the course of the President of Russia, they have not become less outstanding musicians,” he stressed.
In early April, the Swiss Sergei Rachmaninoff Foundation suspended Matsuev's membership in the Advisory Council.
In March, the International Festival of Academic Music in Lucerne refused to cooperate with the artist and canceled his performances.
In February 2022, New York's Carnegie Hall also denounced Matsuev's participation in three concert events.
The current situation has also affected other Russian cultural figures who are faced with the abolition of Russian culture due to support for the political course of Russia or because of the unwillingness to comment on government actions.
Thus, in December 2022, the Italian Arcimboldi Theater canceled the performances of the Russian dancer Sergei Polunin with the ballet Rasputin - Dance Drama.
"The theater management wants to make it clear that this is not a cultural decision, but a political and moral responsibility," the theatre's press service said in a statement.
In November 2022, People's Artist of the USSR, Russian conductor and violinist Vladimir Spivakov was removed from the post of artistic director of the International Music Festival in Colmar, which he had headed for more than 30 years.
In an interview with Radio Classic, he called the decision to cancel the festival, as well as remove him from leadership, "political cowardice."
In September, the directorate of the Russian Theater in Estonia fired Russian director Philip Los, who had been the theatre's artistic director for five years.
The reason for the dismissal was a published post on one of the social networks, where the director compared the life of Russians in Estonia with the situation of Jews during World War II.
In the spring of 2022, a number of musical organizations unilaterally terminated agreements with Russian conductor Valery Gergiev.
Carnegie Hall suspended him from the concerts he directed.
Gergiev was also removed from his post as chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra.
These measures were taken in response to the musician's refusal to publicly condemn the Russian government's actions against the NWO.
At the same time, opera singer Anna Netrebko's concerts at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Bavarian State Opera were cancelled.
Soon she returned to the stage with a triumphant solo concert.
The artist has performed at La Scala, the Paris Philharmonic and other foreign stages.
In April 2022, Polish Minister of Culture Piotr Glinski demanded the exclusion of Russian culture from public space.
At the same time, a number of musical organizations in European countries are in favor of cultural dialogue.
In December Milan's La Scala opened the new season with Modest Mussorgsky's opera Boris Godunov.
The premiere show gathered a full house and was accompanied by a 13-minute standing ovation.
The theater management, represented by Dominic Meyer, in an interview with the Italian agency ANSA called Mussorgsky's work "a great masterpiece."
Meyer explained that removing the opera from the repertoire is like "imposing a punishment on culture."
In this matter, he was supported by the chief conductor of the theater, Ricardo Chai, the mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, and the deputy head of the Italian Ministry of Culture, Vittorio Zgrabi.
The Brussels Royal Opera House La Monnaie also included works by Russian composers in the program of the new season - concerts of music by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Sergei Prokofiev and Mikhail Glinka, as well as productions of The Queen of Spades, Eugene Onegin and The Nose.
Peter de Caluwe, director of the theater, said that Russian culture should not be banned, as it is part of the common heritage of Europe.
He stressed that he intends to stage works by Russian authors in the future.