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In Reply to: RE: On the other hand, posted by rbolaw on April 07, 2015 at 12:25:52
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra's decision to cancel performances by a Ukrainian-born pianist over what it calls her "deeply offensive language" is part of a troubling phenomenon that could lead artists to self-censor, civil rights advocates said Tuesday.
While it's not uncommon for workers to be penalized for expressing opinions on social media that reflect poorly on their employer, it's difficult to make that case for Lisitsa, said Cara Zwibel, director of the fundamental freedoms program for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
"It's hard to see the connection between what she said and what the duties of her job are and how it would affect it," Zwibel said. "If the idea is just that the orchestra wants to avoid controversy, I don't find that a particularly compelling reason. The fact that maybe there would be some people protesting is, again, not a reason to let her go," she said.
"I think there is a problem with the message that this sends to artists that they may have trouble getting jobs or keeping jobs if they express views that are unpopular or controversial."
. . .
Lisitsa performed in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., on Saturday and organizers said they were saddened by the controversy.
Christine Mori, founder and artistic director for Bravo Niagara!, said she was aware of Lisitsa's tweets before booking the concert, but didn't feel it warranted intervention.
"I knew that there might be some backlash because of her political statements that she was making, but we did not get involved in that and I do believe in freedom of speech," she said Tuesday.
"She did not speak politically at all at the concert...and we presented her as Valentina the pianist."
Mori said she hoped Lisitsa's other Canadian performances would still go ahead.
Follow Ups:
This just isn't a freedom of speech issue, as I said. People take for granted the great public importance of what a major symphony orchestra does in a case like this or in general, but when it comes to public (i.e., government) funding of such artistic institutions, they are much less enthusiastic.
Well, guess what? That leaves orchestras much more subject to the whims of wealthy patrons, like the one who may have been behind the decision to cancel Ms. Lisitsa's performances, according to her. (Though I think Rick W's explanation is more likely.) That's the free enterprise system at work. And there is nothing illegal about it.
Even though I understand that everybody's favorite mayor, Rob Ford, voted against funding the orchestra! ;-)
Really, I don't think there's anything "faulty" about the CBC analysis - it's just looking at the situation from a different point of view. But let's let Valentina speak for herself (accent is pretty heavy!):
Of course, as you might imagine, RT is having a field day with this! ;-)
If they have to kowtow to a wealthy patron to that extent. The faulty part (at least under US law) is the idea that anything illegal happened. An orchestra is entitled to steer clear of PR pitfalls and political controversies that could affect its fundraising. Now, a decision like this can backfire and do them more harm than good. I don't know if that will happen in this case, though.
Indeed! It's already reported that some Toronto Symphony patrons have cancelled their subscriptions. Probably not a critical mass yet, but you never know what may happen, especially if this thing drags on for a while.Some posts I've seen on other sites referred to the "good old days" of 2009, when pianist Krystian Zimerman harangued an audience in Disney Hall (just before the last piece on his concert) about US foreign policy, and admonished them to "get your hands off my country!", causing some listeners to walk out and others to applaud. To my knowledge, I don't know of any political rants from the stage on Valentina's part (at least so far!).
Edits: 04/18/15
Indeed, in 1971 Leonid Kogan actually refused to give a concert with the Pittsburgh Symphony because they had a "Russian defector" in their cello section. But when a performer goes public with controversial political views, he or she has to be prepared to accept the backlash.
"Part of his disenchantment with the USA may be that with the stepped up militarization and security at US airports, it has become increasingly difficult to bring his piano into the country. In incidents in 2001 and 2006, one of his Steinway pianos was completely destroyed and another one damaged by security staff at New York's JFK airport."
Can you blame him?
And his absence from the U.S. since that incident has been self inflicted. I bet he would be welcomed back to Disney Hall if he were to express an interest.
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