A Recital in Mariupol
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Mariupol,05/11/2022. Pianist Valentina Lisitsa performed on May 9 in the Russian-ravaged city of Mariupol, where thousands of civilians have been killed in recent weeks. According to media reports, Russian war songs were heard during the performance by the artist who had traveled from Moscow.
In the past, Lisitsa had often attracted attention with controversial political statements and actions. She had publicly acknowledged the pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine and criticized the Ukrainian government. In 2017, Lisitsa gave a concert on the Crimean Peninsula annexed by Russia after illegally entering Crimea.
The Dutch airline KLM had removed the pianist from its on-board program because of her comments on the downing of the MH17 passenger plane over Ukraine in July 2014. All 298 passengers were killed when a Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down; among the passengers were around 200 Dutch people. The Toronto Symphony Orchestra had also canceled concerts with her (klassik.com reported)
Pianist Valentina Lisitsa performed in liberated Mariupol
Volunteer Company and Young Guard activists helped organize impromptu concert venues in different parts of the city for Ukrainian pianist Valentina Lisitsa. She gave five performances in different districts of the liberated city, having specially arrived in Mariupol from Moscow to support the residents. Her repertoire included both classical works by Russian composers and songs of the war years, which were actively sung by listeners - local residents.“I consider it my duty at this difficult moment to be close to the residents of the liberated Mariupol. I was born and raised in Kyiv. For the first time in the city, songs of the war years could be heard and people were not afraid to pay tribute to the memory of their great-grandfathers and grandfathers who liberated the world from fascism,” said Valentina Lisitsa.
“Valentina Lisitsa showed all cultural figures that the Motherland is not only music or words, but also deeds. To the sound of artillery shots, she performed several compositions on May 9 and 10, showing not only high fighting spirit, but also the real spirit of culture, ”said Stanislav Kuzmenko, acting chairman of the Council of Federal Coordinators of the Volunteer Company of the Combat Brotherhood.
Recall that Valentina Lisitsa previously gave concerts on the territory of the DPR, as well as on May 2 in Moscow, at the action “Odessa. We remember."
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More here about her and her support for Russia's interventions in Ukraine. This, from 2015.
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What repertoire did she play in Mariupol?
(For a split second, I read the title as “A Rectal in Mariupol.”)
@Axtremus said in A Recital in Mariupol:
(For a split second, I read the title as “A Rectal in Mariupol.”)
That too.
