Exclusive: Moscow police break up piano recital

Moscow police yesterday raided a recital of chamber music by Shostakovich and Weinberg at the Rassvet Palace of Culture, ordering the artists and audience to go home, ‘by order of the Presnensky police department’.

Facing solid refusal, the police left and the recital proceeded with a Shostakovich trio and piano quintet. The police returned at the interval and cleared the hall, claiming they had received a bomb warning. After a fruitless search of the building, artists and audience returned and the recital was completed with the Weinberg Aria for string quartet, op. 9 and Piano quintet op. 18

The pianist was Polina Osetinskaya, who has previously protested against Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

She was accompanied by members of Opensoundorchestra – Stanislav Malyshev, Inna Zilberman (violins), Daria Filippenko (viola) and Olga Kalinova (cello).