Under pressure from pro-Kiev activists, Lufthansa has followed KLM in removing recxordings by the pianist Valentina Lisitsa from its inflight entertainment. Lisitsa has taken a militant stand in favour of Russian occupation of Crimea and support of anti-Kiev militants.
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If she would be a Russian or any other nationality, it could make some sense. Not much, but some very little. But she is Ukrainian. Is she not allowed to have an opinion about her own country? There are Ukrainians who are pro-Kiev and anti-Kiev. Should all pro-Russian Ukrainians be banned from the inflight entertainment?
Luckily today, Ukrainians like Horowitz, Richter, Gilels, Oistrakh, Milstein, Elman and many others are not alive anymore. Who knows what would be their political opinion, and corresponding to it, which of them would we be allowed to listen to. If we succeeded in a separation of church and state, maybe we should also try to manage separation of politic and arts.
Dominique,
1. Lisitsa has never claimed to be a Ukrainian pianist. She calimed she was half Russian and half Polish born in Kiev during Soviet times. She moved to US right after dessolution of USSR. Now that she is a part of Kremlin propaganda machine, spinning it as being Ukrainian pianist is rather obvious and forced.
2. I am really hoping you did mean what you said: “Luckily today, Ukrainians like Horowitz, Richter, Gilels, Oistrakh, Milstein, Elman and many others are not alive anymore.
3. Lisitsa is not simply taking a side in a war conflict. She spews hatred and calls for violence against the people on the other side. The language and images she is using are disturbing and inappropriate for a public person seeking royalties and pay for concerts in the West.
Dominique,
1. Lisitsa has never claimed to be a Ukrainian pianist. She claimed that she was half Russian and half Polish born in Kiev during Soviet times. She moved to US right after dissolution of USSR. Now that she is a part of Kremlin propaganda machine, spinning it as being Ukrainian pianist is rather obvious and forced.
2. I am really hoping you did mean what you said: “Luckily today, Ukrainians like Horowitz, Richter, Gilels, Oistrakh, Milstein, Elman and many others are not alive anymore.
3. Lisitsa is not simply taking a side in a war conflict. She spews hatred and calls for violence against the people on the other side. The language and images she is using are disturbing and inappropriate for a public person seeking royalties and pay for concerts in the West.
1. Lisitsa has never claimed to be a Ukrainian pianist. She claimed she was half Russian and half Polish born in Kiev during Soviet times. She moved to the US right after dissolution of USSR. Spinning it as being a Ukrainian pianist is a deliberate effort of propaganda machine.
2. I am really hoping you did NOT mean what you said: “Luckily today, Ukrainians like Horowitz, Richter, Gilels, Oistrakh, Milstein, Elman and many others are not alive anymore.”
3. Lisitsa did not simply support a side in a war conflict. She resorted to hate and violence promotion against innocent people on the other side. The language and images she chooses are unacceptable in a civilized world for a public person she is.
What a twisting of words! You quote (2) out of context to make it look like Dominique wants Ukrainians dead, when he’s saying that political filtering could have deprived the world of great art. Such cynical manipulation really undermines your credibility.
Norman, please delete repeated messages in reply to Dominique. Choose the one with less typos ))) My connection went down couple of times. Didn’t know the replies were out.
Surely a ban for repeated spamming of this board is in order now?
As I understood Inna you are that rogul’ who started atack at Lisitsa with KLM.
You have, Inna, to undertake psychiatric evaluation as soon as possible, though your condition likely to be genetic as Galicians suffer from inherited deceases.
I pity you as I would do with every retarded human being.
She IS Russian. Or at least of Russian and Polish descent, despite being born in Ukraine. Her affinities clearly lie with Russia. Which is her right.
What decent people object to is her foul mouth. As has been said before here, she has obscured the merits of any position she might hold by the nasty way in which SHE has been propagandising. Tough luck if her own distasteful remarks have turned others against her. Businesses appear to be finding that right now she is a bad bet with which to be associated. As is THEIR right.
… and what is being Ukrainian, exactly ? And who isn’t a propagandist ? 😉
She was born in Ukraine.
Joanna Lumley was born in Srinagar. Doesn’t make her Indian. eddie Izzard was born in Yemen. Nobody thinks he’s Yemeni.
Ukraine never was a country nor was culturally dissociated from Russia before its recent independence. On the opposite, it’s the cradle of Russian culture, language and religion (revise your history : Русь). Washington and the EU with the press (propaganda!) are creating this artificial identity in the mind of gullible westerners to enlarge their geopolitical control. Because of that, innocent people are dying everyday. Artists are also paying the price (like the constant bashing of Russian musicians on this website, or Depardieu’s movies which have been banned too in Ukraine … is it serious?) and the whole world is at the breach of a new cold war. Why don’t the US and the EU leave the Russians of Ukraine alone and mind their own business for once ?
Because Ukraine wants to be associated with the civilisation to the West and not the Bardak to the East.
So according to your logic, no-born in Ukraine is Ukrainian?
Except for your dear friend ‘Inna’ who has made the claim in all her bazillions of cut-paste identikit postings.
I do not know which country CDH could be from, probably Canada or Galicia looking at the style of writing.
Valentina’s critics has never been outside of acceptable framework of communication within social media.
What rogul’s try to perform are lies and attempts to stab in a back which is quite within Bandera style.
KLM “silenced” but Lufthansa “deleted” – great change in tone, Mr. Lebrecht. The latter one sounds far more accurate. Thank you.
I find it fully acceptable that the social media that she used to build up her career is also nowresponsible for deconstructing it. she is a technical he very disciplined and adapt player who is utterly lacking in musicality and imagination. Not exactly the emperors new clothes, but certainly not worth all of this attention.
Pro-Kiev activist? Very unexpected classification.
How about Ukrainian patriots? Pro-Ukraine activists?
The current Kiev régime is allowing the thugs and fascists to control and terrorise large parts of Ukraine, causing much suffering to various peoples, including longstanding communities of ethnic Russians (from whom Lisitsa is descended), who have every right to live peacefully in Ukraine and practise their culture and language. In such circumstances, it seems to me (speaking as someone who has no connection with Ukraine, but who has read widely enough on the topic to feel entitled to a cursory opinion) that the patriotic thing to do is, surely, to criticise the powerful vested interests who have been making life for ordinary civilians a constant misery and danger. Unfortunately, the western media like to overlook this, but the Off-Guardian has a really good summary of the situation, at:
https://web.archive.org/web/20150703084732/http://off-guardian.org/2015/07/03/are-we-the-fascists-now/
[it covers a number of countries, so you need to scroll down for the pertinent section]
I particularly commend to your attention the following paragraph:
“These Russian-speaking and bilingual people of Ukraine – a third of the population – have long sought a federation that reflects the country’s ethnic diversity and is both autonomous and independent of Moscow. Most are not “separatists” but citizens who want to live securely in their homeland and oppose the power grab in Kiev. Their revolt and establishment of autonomous “states” are a reaction to Kiev’s attacks on them. Little of this has been explained to western audiences.”
Trying to shut down the debate and boycott those (such as Lisitsa) who venture to dissent from the line peddled by the western media, as a small number of well connected agitators are attempting to do, is not the proper way to address this highly complex situation, which is far from black and white. It is not even tenable to assume a moral high-ground on the matter of restraint from incitement to nasty language — the western media have just been pouring scorn on a British MP who pointed out that, as a country that purports to be civilised, the USA’s military should have accorded even a terrorist leader the right of a fair trial and due process instead of undertaking premeditated extrajudicial murder.
Quoting John Pilger. Are you KIDDING?! Just another useful idiot of Putin! You might want to try to find some more credible sources than him. Otherwise, just don’t embarrass yourself.
John Pilger
The English writer Auberon Waugh, writing in The Spectator in the 1980s in response to an article Pilger had written alleging Thai complicity in child trafficking (whose research was challenged), coined the verb “to pilger”, defined as: to present information in a sensationalist manner to reach a foregone conclusion.
The writer William Shawcross has described him as “one of the worst journalists writing in the English language”.
The Economist ’s Lexington columnist commented on Pilger’s account of the Arab uprising:
Next up is the egregious John Pilger, who thinks the Arab revolts show that the West in general and the United States in particular are “fascist.” … Maybe he hasn’t noticed, but what most of the Arab protesters say they want are the very freedoms that they know full well, even if Pilger doesn’t, to be available in the West. No doubt he believes they are labouring under some massive mind-control delusion engineered by the CIA.
The New York magazine columnist Jonathan Chait responded to Pilger’s 13 May 2014 column in The Guardian about Ukraine. In the view of Chait, Pilger “defend[s] Vladimir Putin on the grounds that he stands opposed to the United States, which is the font of all evil” as a comical “attempt to cast land-grabbing, ultranationalist dictator Vladimir Putin as an enemy of fascism.”It has also been reported that Pilger’s column contained a bogus quote from a non-existent Jewish Doctor which misleadingly gave the impression that the demonstrators expressed pro Nazi and antisemitic views while preventing the victims of the Odessa tragedy of 2 May from being rescued.
The Anglo-American writer Christopher Hitchens said of Pilger: “I remember thinking that his work from Vietnam was very good at the time. I dare say if I went back and read it again I’d probably still admire quite a lot of it. But there is a word that gets overused and can be misused – namely, anti-American – and it has to be used about him. So that for me sort of spoils it… even when I’m inclined to agree.”[91]
The Economist ’s Lexington columnist commented on Pilger’s account of the Arab uprising:
Next up is the egregious John Pilger, who thinks the Arab revolts show that the West in general and the United States in particular are “fascist.” … Maybe he hasn’t noticed, but what most of the Arab protesters say they want are the very freedoms that they know full well, even if Pilger doesn’t, to be available in the West. No doubt he believes they are labouring under some massive mind-control delusion engineered by the CIA.[92]
The New York magazine columnist Jonathan Chait responded to Pilger’s 13 May 2014 column in The Guardian about Ukraine.[93] In the view of Chait, Pilger “defend[s] Vladimir Putin on the grounds that he stands opposed to the United States, which is the font of all evil” as a comical “attempt to cast land-grabbing, ultranationalist dictator Vladimir Putin as an enemy of fascism.” [94] It has also been reported that Pilger’s column contained a bogus quote from a non-existent Jewish Doctor which misleadingly gave the impression that the demonstrators expressed pro Nazi and antisemitic views while preventing the victims of the Odessa tragedy of 2 May from being rescued.[95][96]
Are you here as a paid-to-post warrior for Pravy Sektor? Do you have anything whatsover to say about music – or are you merely an apologist for a self-declared fascist organisation which has summarily executed 7000+ unarmed civilians in Donbas?
You have appeared on these boards with a fury of hatred, and nothing to say about music at all. It’s time you disclosed your affiliation with right-wing extremism in Ukraine…with the very people who threw grenades into the Rada two days, murdering three policemen.
Eddie, What kind of nonsense from Kremlin propaganda you are spewing. Please turn off the propaganda filth and your paranoia might pass.
I don’t belong to any right-wing extremism and condemn the actions of those who killed our National Guard officers in front of Rada. Ukrainian people never voted for Svoboda to join Rada in 2014, did you notice?! These is a very small number of radicals in relation to general population and Kremlin is using these people to justify their invasion of Ukraine.
If I am assertive, it does not mean I am radical. I expressed myself with respect to any discussant regardless of the views.
If RT and Kremlin propaganda did not drag my name through mud and launched smear campaign along with their darling Lisitsa, I would not be here.
To say something about music I would go to the article dedicated to music, wouldn’t I? Why I suddenly have to talk about music if we are talking about Lisitsa’s hatred against Ukrainians and it is in the context of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
We can all read Wikipedia, and cut and paste. You left out:
In Breaking the Silence: The Films of John Pilger, his appraisal of the journalist’s documentaries, Anthony Hayward wrote, “For half a century, he has been an ever stronger voice for those without a voice and a thorn in the side of authority, the Establishment. His work, particularly his documentary films, has also made him rare in being a journalist who is universally known, a champion of those for whom he fights and the scourge of politicians and others whose actions he exposes.”
Noam Chomsky said of Pilger: “John Pilger’s work has been a beacon of light in often dark times. The realities he has brought to light have been a revelation, over and over again, and his courage and insight a constant inspiration.”
According to Harold Pinter, Nobel Laureate and member of the Stop the War Coalition, “John Pilger is fearless. He unearths, with steely attention to facts, the filthy truth, and tells it as it is… I salute him.”
Martha Gellhorn, the American novelist, journalist and war correspondent, said that “[John Pilger] has taken on the great theme of justice and injustice… He documents and proclaims the official lies that we are told and that most people accept or don’t bother to think about. [He] belongs to an old and unending worldwide company, the men and women of conscience. Some are as famous as Tom Paine and William Wilberforce, some as unknown as a tiny group calling itself Grandmothers Against The Bomb…. If they win, it is slowly; but they never entirely lose. To my mind, they are the blessed proof of the dignity of man. John has an assured place among them. I’d say he is a charter member for his generation.”
John Simpson, the BBC’s world affairs editor, has said, “A country that does not have a John Pilger in its journalism is a very feeble place indeed.”
**********************************************************
I am not entirely of the view that your position is wrong. But I will read you more warily in future, as I consider your sort of cherry-picked argument malicious and false. You omitted, from your cut and paste, Noam Chomsky’s response to Waugh, in the same paragraph:
Noam Chomsky responded to Waugh’s neologism by stating that “pilgerize” was “invented by journalists furious about his incisive and courageous reporting, and knowing that the only response they are capable of is ridicule.”
I distrust anyone who denies half the argument in order to bolster her own. It is the most dishonest kind of reporting there is. And you have the temerity to slag Pilger.
What a desperation, quoting Noam Chomsky re Pilger as old as April 2002, well, I also listened to Lisitsa as late as 2014 ago before I discovered her filth and hatred on Twitter. Putin also changed over past 15 years didn’t he? What is important is that credible people criticized Pilger VERY RECENTLY with regard to his falsified reporting on Ukraine and disproportional affection for Putin. So, having Wikipedia is good, but you also need basic capacity for critical thinking to see what each piece of information implies.
I am Russian Speaking from Ukraine. You don’t quote someone as Pilger, a well known Putin sympathizer based in UK who has NOTHING to do with Ukraine, to tell me about Russian speaking in Ukraine. I have enough personal experience there and know first hand.
I am Russian, I have also Ukrainian blood (no rogul’s one). I think that those who are now in power in Kiev, who are killing civilians of the country they demand is theirs have no rights to exist. Full stop. That is nothing to do with Russia, Putin, etc.
What I was pointing out was that you lifted your negative comments on Pilger (selectively) from Wikipedia. I was completing the lift, with the section on praise that was in the same bloc as the section on criticism. And noting that you edited the section critical of him. I neither know nor care what Pilger has said about any of this. What I was saying was that you used a shabby method of attacking him. And any fool indeed can open Wikipedia… You were trying to imply that you had done a job of research, amassing various critical observations. You had not.
Fight your corner by all means, but try to do it honestly.
Pointing to the most recent and related to Ukraine comments is being dishonest? You make no sense.
This is not about her opinion or freedom of speech, it’s about her use of offensive slurs and promoting hatred of Ukrainians. You’ve heard about not shouting ‘fire!’ in a movie theatre?
DO we really have to read all this nonsense by this INNA propagandist?
Putin trolls, European neo-nazi, communists, and the rest of Lisitsa fan club can sign out )) Nobody is forcing you to face the truth. When the arrogance and ignorance is a bliss, there is little I can help with.
You clearly follow your instructions well. Do you get paid by the hour or by the number of posts?
Holger, no one is paying me. Do I really sound as some stupid troll? Some messages were out too soon and no edit buttons so they are a bit messy )) But I am here to inform about Lisitsa scandal as now Kremlin propaganda networks including RT is dragging my name through the mud and is running a smear campaign. Don’t you think I am concerned about such development? I smiply wrote to KLM and others did too, now I am some whatever RT is calling me. Now I am receiving threats from Putin trolls and fans. It is unacceptable and I don’t have same media access as Kremlin’s darling Lisitsa does. So, yes, I will come and speak up. Would you mind?
Inna said : [quote] “Do I really sound as some stupid troll?”
Answer : YESSSS !!!
End of discussion.
In the movie “From Mao to Mozart”, late Isaac Stern discusses with his Chinese host Mozart, who has been banned in Mao’s China, After Stern spoke highly about Mozart, Chinese conductor says something like, Mozart was good composer but he was bourgeois! As I can imagine that this scene caused every “enlightened” westerner to grin, we still have today boycott of Israeli artists because well, they are pro-Israeli. At the same time we have Israeli minister crying for boycotting Barenboim’s concert in Iran because he is anti-Israeli. Some years ago I was witnessing a boycott of Cuban dance group by one western promoter, to stay unnamed, because he didn’t want to give “dollars to communists”. But now when Obama and Castro signed a deal, I assume the previous Cuban “bad boys” turned to good boys? Probably now he would be allowed to engage them. What a mess, or rather a kindergarten.
Let’s leave this Orwellian brain-washing, and judge only the artistry. A small note to Inna: dear Inna, I am neither Russian, nor Ukrainian, neither Putin troll, nor neo-Nazi (God forbid). I am only allergic to any hatred and propaganda, your included, which is based on daily politics. This is a classical music and cultural blog, let it stay like that without pro-, anti-, neo-, leftist-, rightist-….
Dear Dominique, the discussion was not around music or in response to a music review, would you agree? The discussion was about Lisitsa’ hate promotion on her Twitter and companies and organizations reacting to that, therefore I feel my injections were appropriate and in the right place.
For me it is not a daily politics. My country is at war, my parents and relatives are there, the Ukrainian national identity is under attack, I am sick tired of Kremlin propaganda distorting and lying. And Lisitsa is an effective propaganda instrument of that propaganda machine.
Do you know how many Ukrainian died in the most vicious way possible, starved to death by Stalin in 1931-32? Despite few reports by journalists who desperately tried to draw attention of the West, Soviet propaganda machine (same one Putin is using now) was lying about the famine and was rather effective. Only after millions died and much later when archives became open close to the dissolution of Soviet Union, people knew the truth. Does the West need also decades to know the truth about war in Ukraine? How many more have to die there?
Dominique, I am sick tired of this Lisitsa discourse as well. I have life outside of that, very busy life. If you want music discussion, maybe visit music-related articles that focus on the matters of your interest. I am not preventing you from doing it, do I?
Dear Inna – speak to them about Ukrainian free elections (something Russia hasn’t seen for years): it works miracles, makes them disappear in a puff…
I suppose KLM and Lufthansa pay royalties for every recording they use. Maybe they didn’t want to pay this particular artist.
Mrs Lissitsa learns the hard way that actions have consequences.
Does Lisitsa really merit all this discussion about her and her politics? The fact is that she is a competent pianist and reasonably talented musician only. She is nowhere near being, and never will be, in the same class as younger and incomparably finer pianists such a Benjamin Grosvenor or Daniil Trifonov, who are destined for greatness (unless, of course, they go off the rails like John Ogden and Terence Judd, for example).
Agreed. But that’s why she’s looking for some kind of martyrdom.
Crimea is Ukraine, Putin and Russia have invaded another country, fact. Putin and Russia, yes they want the resources but doesn’t justify it, have used their military to invade another country and kill it’s citizens. Fact. Period. Why NATO stands by and lets this warmonging dictator do it freely frustrates me. You have to stand up to a bully.
What are you suggesting? I’m sure lots of people would love to hear a practicable solution to all this.
Well, Fürzwangler, I asked the same question, and the silent war continues here as if her mediocre pianism isn’t really a critical issue. Always worth bringing it back to this key point……
…and it continues still…
I am reading many comments from people who clearly do not live in or around the conflict zones of Ukraine. It’s easy to wave your flag from someplace safe and detached from the real people who live there, have always lived there.
Se is one artist, with one opinion, one belief. Why is she even news? Why do you even care? Punishing and chastising someone who holds a different belief than your own suggests that it is you who is the problem.
International members of government, celebrities, and countless International organizations have gone to Crimea since their ‘referendum’, including Ministers of the government of France, and all of them have reported that they feel that overall the people of Crimea are in favor of the vote. They have suggested the vote was likely legitimate and that what Kiev is telling the West is not the reality of Crimea.
Crimea is a regional and economic zone of Ukraine where a majority of the people wanted to separate from Ukraine. This is no different than the people of Scotland in their bid to separate from the UK. I live in Canada and I love my nation however, there are people in Quebec who wish to separate the province into their own state. As unfortunate as that may be, it is also their choice. If the majority of the people wish that then so be it. Why can Crimea not enjoy the same freedom?
Valentina Lisitsa is merely an artist, a good one at that, with her own opinion. I have no respect for any person or organization that would deny an artist their freedoms of expression.
Gary, I am afraid you a missing a point. Nobody is punishing and chastising someone who holds a different belief. How is that promoting hatred and calling for violence against Ukrainians who oppose Russian invasion of their country is “a different belief”. She can express apolitical view, but indulging in obscene images and messages of hatred against other side is unacceptable. The language and images Lisitsa is using to spew her hatred towards Ukrainians are incompatible with the values of diversity and inclusion that are at the core of societies like Canadian. Organizations and companies can be informed about speech of Lisitsa and the companies can choose freely whom they want to associate with. It is common sense and business. There are plenty of pianists to replace Lisitsa on their in-flight entertainment, why can’t they choose an artist who does not create a major havoc and insults so many? Lisitsa is a propaganda tool, she is used by Kremlin propaganda machine to bring more lies here. This is my concern as a Ukrainian who does not want to see her country torn apart and wants the war to end.
Gary, all my relatives were in Crimea. I spend there every summer. What kind of nonsense from Kremlin you are repeating about referendum?
International observes? You mean French and Italian members of far-right (openly neo-nazi) groups, those that openly support Putin in Europe? How credible?! Neither OSCE or UN was there.
Russian army “observed” the referendum after taking over the Parliament and Government there. The peninsula was cut off from any Ukrainian media sources. Russian army seized all Ukrainian bases there prior the vote, killed and injured some officers there. How do you call it a freedom? Yes, some people came, but by no means a percentage reported by Kremlin? Crimean Tatars (big portion of population there) organizations reported ONLY 30% of population showed up. Imagine if this kind of fraud was in Quebec or Scotland with a foreign country supervising with its armed military?
How can you even compare the Quebec referendum in the past and more recent in Scotland? These were legitimate referendums. In both cases national officials were allowed, Canadian or UK media were not cut off there, there was a long, long consultation process (years) before going into referendum hearing all sides involved. There was no military of a foreign country involved. Remember what was the result?! Despite strong separatists movements there, neither Quebec or Scotland voted to separate, though the vote was very close.
In Crimea, separatist party had ONLY 4% of votes during last election!!! Think about it and then Russia took over and within two weeks annexed illegally a foreign territory. My relatives had to flee from their worried for their lives. A friend of mine here in Canada is from Crimea seeking refuge. So, PLEASE don’t say NONSENSE. People’s lives are turned there upside down, a number of people were tortured and killed and you call it “FREEDOM”?!
“Freedom of expression”? No one puts her in jail for what she said. She can say every nonsense she comes up with. She’s just losing some money. Once again: she’s learning the hard way that acts have consequences.
For your benefit, here is the actual fact directly from Lufthansa (@Lufthansa via Twitter DM)
“Pianist Valentina Litsitsa was featured in Lufthansa’s inflight entertainment program for several months in 2013. Our licence with her record label expired the same year, and we have no plans at present to renew our collaboration. /Ted”
Licensing agreements are not indefinite and are intentionally short so that subscribers, not just airlines, can ensure rotation of the latest available content. Licensing agreements are very frustrating to the consumer level. For example Netflix Canada has less than 1/3rd the content available as Netflix US subscribers. Additionally, Netflix sometimes lets licenses expire and like Lufthansa, does not renew them. I’ve been watching reruns of old TV series only to have them disappear from Netflix for that reason.
SlipDisk’s blog above is irresponsible in that the author did not perform due diligence and investigate for fact before publishing. It’s disappointing that I even came across this blog on my Twitter feed.
Did they mention why they don’t want to renew? One can easily assume it is because of KLM decision, they would think twice if they renew. I am sure they would be cautious with the words to not be harassed by Lisitsa and her hate promotion club as she is harassing now KLM.
Gary, there are screenshots from Google cache, latest dated Aug 27 showing Lisitsa was on Lufthansa list. Lufthansa might just try to avoid the scandal by not acknowledging.
New word from Lufthansa:
“Our license with her record label expired the same year, and we have no plans at present to renew our collaboration. Lufthansa has always clearly distanced itself from extremist political views. /Judith”
It is very clear they don’t to have anything in common with Lisitsa because of views.
I have an idea — why don’t we take all performers who were either born in any country that anyone has a beef with, or all performers with an ethnic identification in that country, and force them to sign a petition that states out loud their political affections, and then we can ban them from places if they refuse to sign or if their political opinions lean in the “wrong” direction?
Nothing could possibly go wrong with that, could it?
For the zillionth time: it is not her views, it is her ugly expression of them that has made her enemies.
For the zillion and first time: Bad language and uncouth behavior means that much? Or should? Do you not see the problem with this? GMAFB.
You happy when people use the N-word, or slag Jews, or urinate in Church? Bad language, uncouth behaviour. Yes, it’s that bad.
Did you even go through her tweets? The woman is a Class A bitch, whose comments and illustrations range from obscene to hateful. I can’t blame anyone for severing ties with her. And I do not care for one moment what her views are on the situation on Ukraine. As I have argued from the first, she is entitled to (formed) opinion and political freedom. She is not entitled to malign people hatefully because of her opinion.
Janis, would it matter if you know that it is because of this speech people take weapon illegally and come to fight imaginary enemies created by propaganda machine, with Lisitsa being part of it (propaganda). Would you care that innocent are dying daily because of all this filth and propaganda?
Ms. Lisitsa used her fame, influence and popularity to promote war, aggression and violence. And it is these types of hate-laced propaganda campaigns that Ms. Lisitsa participates in that Lufthansa simply doesn’t want to promote or be associated with – and that is the air company’s right. Thank you, Lufthansa!
Lisitsa freely gave her views of the situation in Ukraine, the people there, Crimea, etc. I have never read any assertion that she was coerced into making such statements. She is entitled to hold those opinions, whether or not I or anyone else approves of them. She’s even entitled to use filthy words to describe the Ukrainian people. What she is NOT entitled to do is to freely express those opinions and expect that there will be many people who will disagree with her, boycott her concerts, write letters complaining about her, attempt to influence others to boycott her, and so on. The freedoms that Valentina has, everyone else has also.
What Valentina has not learned is that there are consequences to opening her mouth, especially when she does so loudly and repeatedly. That’s life. There have been several other (mostly Russian) performers who have fallen into this trap, most of whom have been discussed here. I may be mistaken, but I don’t think Trifanov has fallen into this trap. Maybe he thinks that he would rather build his career, not ruin it.
Probably many other performers have opinions on this matter, but they are smart enough to keep those opinions to themselves or share them only with trusted friends. What Valentina does not realize is that she is a performer and that she depends on the public to continue to want to buy her “product.” She is not selling anything that is absolutely necessary for life nor is she the only person attempting to sell this particular product. I’m sure her career has suffered now, but she was grossly unable to grasp the effects -especially UNwanted ones – that her fascination with online media entails.
In the old days, Hollywood carefully managed its stars and nothing at all was left to chance. Any statement that a star made was carefully vetted (and probably composed for that star!). Call that censorship, but Valentina should could have used a censor. Just because a thought was on her mind, there was no reason why it had to be on her tongue.
Boy, this chick really moves the envelope. You and everyone else who has said that it is not her view but her manner of expressing it, and the fact that speech has consequences, are absolutely right.
Spot on except to note that thousands have lost their lives by this russian invasion
of the Ukraine , you also get inane comments as the Canadian comparing this
to Quebec bs.The piano player is beneath contempt with her biased comments
considering the tragic death toll and she deserves whatever ill will comes her way
way.
What happened to Lisitsa is what would have happened to John Lennon and Princess Diana had they not been assassinated to prevent their anti-war, pro-human ethics. Lisitsa speaks the truth regarding Ukraine. So far, what I’ve heard from Inna Thorn and her ilk is nothing but baseless accusations. I have yet to see a tweet by Lisitsa in which she says that she “celebrates terrorists responsible for taking down MH17”. I also have yet to see evidence that Russia took down MH17 as is claimed by Thorn and her ilk. To anyone here: Do your own research, and don’t just accept what anyone says, look up the facts. Celebrating and supporting a lie makes you partly responsible for the horrific crimes committed in Ukraine.
Right back at you.
Bad taste. Extremely bad taste. No better term to describe Valentina Lisitsa and her ilk – Putin bare-chested on his horse and the Russian imbeciles with their weapons bragging about shooting down MH17, and killing 300 people and then looting their corpses.
Lisitsa is absolutely revolting, and she is pure product of Russification. A scourge on Ukrainian soil. I’ve heard it described countless times and I wouldn’t have BELIEVED it but for reading her posts with my own eyes. Such SHAME. Ганьба! Let the world see how primitive, base, and utterly revolting these Russified monkeys are.
Note the crazed obsession with debasing Ukrainians, language, music, culture, genetics even. She was TAUGHT this obscene hatred. This is the Soviet Russian propaganda. Look world, and see who these people are. Learn.
Before Lebrecht’s maligning of Valentina, I had never heard of her. So I checked out many of her youtube postings and was amazed by her extraordinary technique. This is the best pianist I have heard in many years. I don’t care what she says about the Ukrainians, like this stupid INNA, who seems to be suffering from diarrhea of the mouth. I would go hear Ms. Lisitsa anywhere she happens to be playing. What a loss for classical music fans in Boston and Canada where she was cancelled. What has happened to freedom of Speech in these places?
Another “freedom of speech” number? She can speak freely. She’s just lost some contracts. Should have thought about it before she spoke. Quidquid agis prudenter agas et respice finem.
I suggest that you now check her twitter account.
In all objectivity, this lady is completely mad. Hopefully, someone in her entourage will tell her to stop and try to salvage what’s left of her reputation.
I sent this two weeks ago. It is still valid…
Can you imagine Maurizio Pollini, Martha Argerich, Alfred Brendel, Radu Lupu, Pierre-Laurent Aimard or Leif Ove Andsnes “caricaturing political entities (states or parties) as animals”? I don’t.
You know why they wouldn’t degrade themselves doing that? Because they have class. And because they know how to use their talent for something constructive. Unlike this queen of twitter…
At least she’s finally getting a taste of her own medicine. Funny that someone who owes her reputation to social media will also disappear in oblivion because of social media.
Royal Rich , she must be playing some place, why are you hanging around writing your nonsense when you could be on a plane to where ever she is displaying her second rate talent.You wrote you would go , so go ………..Seems Boston and Canada have
survived quite well without her .