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Valentina Lisitsa - Hero Pianist
A uplifting concert from a heroic pianist banned from performing in Toronto for her opposition to the war being waged in her country

Amidst all the horror of the Ukrainian conflict, 22nd June 2015 produced a moment of true heroism.


The pianist Valentina Lisitsa — prevented from performing in Toronto because of her opposition to the war being waged in her native Ukraine — performed a concert in Donetsk.

This was a true anti-war concert - commemorating those who fought fascism on the anniversary of the Nazi attack on the USSR (Operation Barbarossa).


It was also an act of solidarity with those in the Donbass who have suffered from the war imposed on them. It was also an act of astonishing courage - throwing down the gauntlet of defiance at the angry packs of the war's Western supporters.

It is as though through her art Lisitsa was saying (as Luther probably didn't): "Here I stand - I can do no other." That was the indomitable courage that saved the world from fascism and war 70 years ago.

It is ennobling to see the same spirit again amongst us now.

Details of the concert can be found here.