ROME – Denis Matsuev, a Russian pianist described by Italian media as pro-Putin, has been banned from this year’s International Piano Festival, which will take place from April until June in Lombardian cities Brescia and Bergamo, organizers said.

 The mayors of the two cities, Emilio Del Bono and Giorgio Gori, received a letter from Kiev on Feb. 3. In it, the Ukrainian Ambassador to Italy, Yaroslav Melnyk, requested the cancellation of two concerts that included performances by Matsuev, defining his presence as “inappropriate.”

 On Feb. 8, Del Bono and Gori announced their decision to remove Matsuev “out of respect for the Ukraine people.” They have asked the festival’s presidency and artistic direction to suspend Matsuev’s concerts, which were to take place on May 24 and 27. 

 Matsuev has supported many of Putin’s policies, including Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. In 2020, he was a member of Putin’s working group that would assess amendments to the Russian Federation’s constitution.

 In the mayors’ response to Melnyk’s letter, they wrote:

 “We have carefully evaluated which decision was right to take, certainly not because our clear support is in question for the cause of the Ukrainian people, forced to defend their homeland from the Russian invasion, but rather because we believe that culture, as the bearer of values of humanity and beauty, should be able to enjoy a freedom of expression not conditioned by the conflicts affecting the political sphere.” 

 Later in the letter, the mayors explain how Matsuev’s “repeated and explicit support” of Putin led them to their final decision, in concordance with Kiev and Melnyk’s request.

 Del Bono and Gori are not the first to take this stance. Other countries have recently removed Matsuev’s performances from their lineups, including Carnegie Hall in New York, the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland, the Konzerthaus in Vienna, and the Municipal House in Prague.

jd