Champs Elysées awaits a Putin pianist
NewsThe Théâtre des Champs-Elysées is continuing to list an April 8 piano recital by Valentina Lisitsa, an artist who has since 2014 supported Russian military actions in Crimea, to the point of performing for its military leaders (pictured).
Lisitsa, who holds US citizenship, was born and raised in Ukraine but identifies with the Putin regime.
In 2015 she was barred from Canadian concert halls and her recordings were erased from the playlists of Lufthansa and other airlines.
She recently sought to revive her career by signing a substantial deal with the French-owned Naive Classics label.
… ( to boot to your reflection on Madame Lisitsa) … I like her Chopin tempi and her manner of play 😉
You must be very Putinist. Tempi! 🙂
Lisitsa is a banger. Strictly a banger.
banger or not it depends on your inner vibs …. I listened to many different manners of playing Chopin and she is quite pretty to my ears , I even put her minute valse as a main ringtone on my phone 😉 Perception always correlates with your moods, criteria are floating …
Naive Classics no doubt have a ‘No disrepute clause’ in their contract with her, surely they are looking closely at her behaviour.
I have played with her numerous times and always was disgusted with her playing. It literally is nothing but pounding the piano. No music making whatsoever. Just my opinion of course.
She is Ukranian.
One parent Russian, the other Ukrainian.
I saw her accompany Hilary Hahn in a recital in Ohio many years ago now and her playing was beautiful and sensitive.
She is not a pianist, really, just somebody who came in from youtube.
That is the dumbest statement I ever heard. Her playing may not be to your tastes, but she is most definitely a pianist.
“Naive Classics” – never has a record label been so aptly named …
She is simply not a good pianist, regardless. There is no reason to listen to that level of piano playing.
Anyone can rent a venue as long as they pay the bills (and publicity). Even if an agent is listed as presenter, in most cases this is also paid for by the artist up-front, hoping to clear more money from the box office.
I doubt very much that she was “hired” by anyone to perform there — although with enough (Russian) money, I suppose anything is possible.
Just the reality of present-day concert life. Gone forever are the times when an agent such as Sol Hurok would stake a small fortune of his own money (!) to fund a tour by someone like Arthur Rubinstein back in the days when he was not so well-known.
Sol Hurok was from Bryansk, Pogarsky district, which bordered on the Ukraine just north of Kyiv (“Hurok” is also most likely Ukrainian in origin).
According to Wikipedia:
“Hurok was born in Pogar, Chernigov Governorate, Russian Empire (in present-day Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine) in 1888, and moved to the United States in 1906, becoming a naturalized citizen in 1914.”
She’s a very fine pianist… and she easily learns mountains of repertoire. Remember USA before cancel-culture? Ah, those pre-cultural-revolution days were great. Now we get to be groped by TSA agents, get injected with experimental substances against our will, masked up and repeatedly jabbed and tested like literal livestock. *gasp* how dare anyone support a regime known for human rights abuses… I’m talking about Amerikkka of course.
Tis better to die from COVID than to voluntarily take a vaccine that is widely approved by Doctors and Government health agencies in preventing prolonged sickness and death due to a COVID-19 infection. Bob Enyart, prominent radio talk show host and anti-vaxer died from COVID -related complications. Phil Valentine and Marc Bernier are two more conservative radio talk show hosts who railed against the vaccine and died from COVID. Are these men heroes for dying, or are they fools whose disregard may have infected still more people?
And Norman lets the anti-vaxxers once again hijack this thread, which has nothing to do with Covid-19!
We do not let anyone hijack anything. Please stop these ridiculous repetitive comments.
Interesting that Denis Matsuev’s recital, scheduled about one month later, was indeed cancelled — and to read the reason given.
Looks like someone is not paying attention, concerning the “fox”…
“Naive-lable”, oh, the irony…
Stop trashing Valentina Lisitza! She’s an excellent pianist and artist with conscience. In 2014 Ukrainian government staring war in Donbass region, bombing and killing people in their own country. As Ukrainian VL express pain and shame of her native country.
“As Ukrainian VL express pain and shame of her native country.”
I always wondered why I felt such pain when I listened to her playing … now I know! 🙂
This pianist was born in Kiev (Ukraine), she studied at the Lysenko Music School and then at the Kiev Conservatory. She lives in the USA. You didn’t even bother to read the artist’s biography, but you attached the label “Putin’s pianist”! Shame on you!
VL was 19 when she won competition in Florida and was invited perform in USA. Putin wasn’t in power than.
Oh nice, I didn’t know my favourite pianist was performing in my city !
Thanks for the heads-up.
Édith Piaf sang for the Nazis and was seriously endangered wit a ban from appearing on radio after war – although she never voiced explicit political support for the invaders. Only the fact that she had helped her Jewish colleague saved her. Lisitsa overtly supports the Russian Nazi and is still being invited to France, DURING the war.