Citing military policies, Polish musician protests U.S.

[ColbertWatcher]

From the Los Angeles Times
CLASSICAL MUSIC / POLITICS
Krystian Zimerman to shun U.S. in protest
The Polish pianist tells a Disney Hall audience he won't play here again, citing military policies.
By Jessica Garrison and Diane Haithman
April 28, 2009

Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman, who is widely admired for his virtuosic performances and who famously tours with his own custom-altered Steinway, created a furor at Disney Hall on Sunday night when he stopped his recital to announce that this would be his last American appearance -- in protest of the nation's military policies overseas.

In a low voice that could not be heard throughout the auditorium, Zimerman, universally considered among the world's finest pianists, made reference to Guantanamo Bay and U.S. military policies toward Poland.

"Get your hands off my country," he said.

(more at the link)

--Los Angeles Times

Here is Zimerman in action on YouTube

[MasonJar]

1. Good for him for standing tall against the imperial USA and its torture,etc. policies.

[ColbertWatcher]

2. I have never heard of him, so I asked Wikip*dia ...

... and I found this:

In 2006 he announced he would not return to the United States until George Bush was out of office. The same year, at Baltimore's Shriver Hall, he prefaced his performance of Beethoven's Pathetique sonata with a denunciation of America's prison at Guantánamo Bay.

(...)

Shortly after 9/11, his piano was confiscated by customs officials at New York's JFK airport, who thought the glue smelled funny. They subsequently destroyed the instrument.

I was able to verify this from the original source The Guardian. It is important to note he travels with his own piano,

For several years he chose to travel with just the mechanical insides of his own piano and install them - he is a master piano repairer, as well as player - inside a Steinway shell he borrowed from the company in New York. In 2006 he tried to travel with his own piano again, only to have it held up in customs for five days and disrupt his performance schedule.

[msongs]

3. so, did he CASH THE CHECK he got or honor his principles and refuse the $$$? nt

[ColbertWatcher]

4. Don't know. n/t