Italians target third Putin player
NewsAfter causing the cancellation of a Valentina Lisitsa concert at La Fenice and Sergej Polunin’s Rasputin in Milan, anti-Putin activists are turning their attention to the pianist Denis Matsuev.
After his friend Valery Gergiev, Matsuev is the musician closest to the Russian President.
Activists in Genoa have issued a petition to have his next concert banned.
Despite these isolated successes, Italian activists have made no impact at all against Anna Netrebko and other singers who continue to bask in limelight at La Scala, Verona, Arezzo and elsewhere.
There was a joke about the Italian Army from WW2. Here it is:
Question: How many gears does an Italian tank have?
Answer: 6: 1 forward and 5 reverse!
Yes, I know it’s a sweeping generalisation but it’s just a joke!
What’s the difference between ancient Rome and modern Rome?
Ancient Rome had slaves.
Modern Rome has
the Milanese.
Why are we unable to respect each other’s differences ? Why use music as a tool of separation instead of unity ?Those who do not appreciate for whatever reason this pianist may simply abstain from attending his concert . As long as we decide that we represent the good and the person opposite to us is the evil , this world is condemned to be a continuous battlefield ….
What’s to respect about condoning mass murder of women and children? You don’t get to accept the largesse of someone who kills his own citizens and those of a bordering country and pretend you are simply a musician and not part of the problem. He is free to perform at home.
Are you saying that this or another pianist is involved into Putin’s acts? Are you serious? Or you are thinking so primitive? Or you are the activist? Or professional bot? You are simply blaming people who live as they were given to be born and must live further. They didn’t send tanks nor missles, didn’t support acts of Putin. The man named Putin and his militarists are guily not pianists. At my age I never met musician who support war (classical music). Perheps music and humanism are unseparate unless music becomes a hostage. And this is exactly the case for many Russian individuals agains the was – they are hostages ,in their own counrty. Am this pianist has nothing to deal with horable acts of a mad authocrat Putin norany other musicians marked here. What a shame that such obvious things becuming topics for disputs. Its so easy to be tough by clicking the mouse and showing courage by swiping the phone. I would like to look at your lion’s courage and philosophy disputs when you have more or less same hostage position as these guys, familiest kinds behind you, old parents, maybe disabled in the family and so on, and half of your life has already been lived. And you sugest to forget about your live, family, kinds and say in face that I am agains the war and put your family in danger? What ignorance and cynicism. Please start thinking before sayng and blaming though.
I am saying that artists who support politicians that conduct mass murder are complicit because they lend an air of legitimacy to their activities. As for the rest of your screed put succinctly p***off.
Russians don’t understand the concept of human freedom and dignity.
Anna Netrebko remains popular because her supporters have successfully rebuked the lies of anti-Netrebko activists, e.g. she did not sing for separatists in Donetsk and money she donated to the Donetsk opera was received by the musicians, not politicians. Netrebko, a citizen of Austria who lives in Vienna, condemned the war, has been called a traitor by Russian officials and has not returned to Russia since the invasion.
Oh yeah? Really? You can find a lot of her pictures wearing the Z ribbon showing her support to the russian aggression. If she would be a heartfelt person she would be against the war that is killing not only Ukrainians but also her own people and as a famous person, fighting to stop it!
“Anti-Putin activists” should travel to Ukraine and tell Ukrainian mothers why their sons should die. Now, that would be brave. Stopping a piano recital and believing you’re doing something is so cowardly and small, I have no words for it.
Apparently, you do.
Serge: Ukrainian sons & daughters are dying to save their country from a brutal invader. The exact same reason that Russian sons & daughters fought and died to save their country from an invading Hitler.
… and they are heroes and will be remembered forever.
And what kind of support (and legacy) do you bring by trying to stop a piano recital that would go by totally unnocited?
“And what kind of support (and legacy) do you bring by trying to stop a piano recital that would go by totally unnocited?”
Under normal circumstances, I’m fairly sure it would indeed go by unnoticed.
But currently, these are definitely not “normal circumstances”, and it got noticed after all, didn’t it?
The best protest would be for nobody to buy tickets but sadly it seems that there is still a strong demand to see Netrebko and gang in Italy.
No dig at Currentzis in the article?
Has to be a first
I saw Matsuev play the Rachmaninoff 2nd with Gergiev and the Mariinsky orchestra in Montreal in 2013. I felt sorry for the piano after his relentless banging.
Matsuyev is dead boring.
Have recorded him, (in Russia) classed it in the- “not interested in this crap” stuff (rach).
The guy is a musical machine, aka “power pianist brigade”.
ie. can’t play ppp to save his life (unlike slava rostro, who could keep people on tiptoe listening to the whispers).
Listen to Martha or Arturo Benedetti
It’s another world.
Sadly in Italy, support for Putin is probably seen as an ASSET.
Listening to a conductor, violinist or pianist? Make sure they are not black. Or of the wrong nationality, or the wrong religion, or the wrong political persuasion. Heavens: they may be black and Jewish and pro-Russian! Ability to play Mozart or Bach or Beethoven or Brahms better than anyone else: just an optional extra.
It seems that the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra (Florida) has no problem performing an all-Russian composer concert with Russian pianist…..but, then, again, this is Florida, and maybe folks either don’t know, or care about the sufferings of innocent people 1/2 way around the world.
Was the Russian pianist a public supporter of or beholden to vp? That is the point.