Toronto Symphony President Defends Decision to Drop Controversial Pianist

Conducting Business

Toronto Symphony president Jeff Melanson tells WQXR's Conducting Business that pianist Valentina Lisitsa's politics had nothing to do with the orchestra's decision to drop her from its program this week.

"The concerns raised were not about a political perspective but were about directly offensive and intolerant comments directed at other human beings," he told host Naomi Lewin.

Melanson disputed Lisitsa's contention that the orchestra had made the decision in December after a donor threatened to withhold funds if she performed as scheduled.

The orchestra produced a seven-page list of the Twitter commentary it found most offensive and sent it to ask if the posts were made by her, or by a proxy. "A week-and-a-half ago she confirmed that these were her words and we had to make a decision," he said.

Melanson continued that "a contract provision allows us to pay an artist her fee and remove them from the program. We tried to do it in a way that was protective of the artist, in terms of not publicly discussing any of this, and of course she's chosen to turn the story into one for the Twitter-verse."

Lisitsa is an ethnic Russian who was born in Ukraine. Through her active Twitter account, she has been highly critical of the Kiev government, comparing its leaders to Nazis and dog feces. In one frequently-cited Tweet, she juxtaposed a photo of contemporary Ukrainian teachers wearing traditional embroidered shirts with a photo of black costumed dancers.

The pianist has not responded to multiple requests by WQXR for comment on the Tweets, but she told the CBC that the Tweets were "satirical" and "there is a great space for exaggeration and hyperbole."

Melanson said the Toronto Symphony does not habitually screen artists' social media before it offers them work, nor does take a side on political matters. "We are not taking a side here between Russia and the Ukraine," he noted.

The orchestra president also implied that the decision to cancel the replacement soloist, Stewart Goodyear, was made out of concern for the musicians' safety. "We could not put an orchestra, an artist and a guest artist up on stage in the context of this week's discussions," he said.

For more on how Melanson said the TSO's decisions were made, and who blew the whistle, listen to the full interview at the top of this page.