Prominent pianist Evgeny Kissin said he would not perform in Turkey until its government acknowledges that the mass murder of Armenians in 1915 was genocide, the New York Times reports.
“I personally believe that if people in such countries learn that some musicians refuse to play there because they are dismayed by what their rulers do, that will make intelligent-thinking people more aware,” he said in an interview with the paper.
Kissin also added that he does “not judge or condemn colleagues who perform in totalitarian countries – it’s a personal choice.”
On May 26, Kissin gave a special concert at Carnegie Hall titled “With You, Armenia: A Concert to Commemorate the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide.” Sponsored by the Yerevan Perspectives International Music Festival, the event was part of an international tour featuring the impressive Hover State Chamber Choir, founded by Sona Hovhannisyan, who conducted the impressive 25-voice ensemble in the rewarding first half of the program. There were arrangements of Armenian folk songs and liturgical works, several contemporary selections, a Britten carol and the world premiere of a choral setting of Psalm 3 by the Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki composed in remembrance of the Genocide.
Earlier in the framework of Yerevan Perspectives International Music Festival, Kissin performed on April 2 a solo concert in Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet.