Muziekgebouw Eindhoven Cancels Elisabeth Leonskaja Concert Over Russia Performance

Written by Chantal Gapato  |  November 22, 2025

The Muziekgebouw concert hall in Eindhoven has canceled its December 4 performance by pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja. The decision followed concerns raised by Ukrainian representatives regarding Leonskaja’s upcoming appearance in Moscow, where the event will offer free admission to Russian soldiers and their families. She is scheduled to perform there with conductor Yuri Bashmet.

The Eindhoven concert had been planned for months. On November 10, Muziekgebouw director Jack Pisters received a letter from Andriy Kostin, the Ukrainian ambassador, urging cancellation. Shortly after, Karel Burger Dirven, honorary consul of Ukraine in the Netherlands, publicly called for the performance to be withdrawn, adding pressure on the venue’s leadership.

Pisters stated that he and the board reviewed the matter carefully. He noted that current guidelines from the Association of Theatre and Concert Directors did not provide a clear boundary for this situation. Those recommendations consider factors such as whether an artist was born in Russia or whether their earnings benefit Russian institutions. Neither applies to Leonskaja, who holds Austrian citizenship and has long resided outside Russia.

Pisters explained that Leonskaja has chosen to perform in Moscow in a setting connected to the military, and that this caused significant concern within the Ukrainian community. The board ultimately decided to cancel the December 4 concert. Ticket holders will be refunded.

Leonskaja, 80, is widely recognized for her long international career. She was born in 1945 in Tbilisi, then part of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. Her parents had relocated there from Odessa during the Second World War, after fleeing the occupation of the city. Her mother had trained in piano and voice, and her father, a lawyer of Russian and Polish background, had also fled due to wartime persecution.