Classical pianist shocks U.S. audience by announcing boycott of their country
Near the end of a recital at Los Angeles’s Disney Hall, the famous Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman told the audience that this would be his last performance in the U.S., due to his objections to the country’s military policies, including the use of his native Poland for CIA prisons and missile defence systems. “Get your hands off my country,” he said before playing the final piece on his program. A few audience members walked out in protest, but most stayed to listen and applaud.