In an official statement, the Honens International Piano Competition from Canada said that it will revoke the invitation of its Russian competitors.
This statement comes days after the statement by World Federations of International Music Competitions (WFIMC), which the Honens is a member of, saying that “No candidate can be seen as an official of his/her government, and no participant can be automatically declared a representative of an ideology simply because of his or her nationality.” and that “we strongly recommend and ask our member organizations not to discriminate against and exclude any young and gifted artists from participating in their competitions.”
WFIMC’s statement on March 4th, 2022.
Honens joins the Dublin International Competition from Ireland to become the second WFIMC member competition to institute a ban on Russian competitors.
Other WFIMC member competitions have chosen a different path on the issue. The Van Cliburn Competition from the USA, in an early statement, said that it will allow its Russian pianists to audition. The Busoni International Competition from Italy also released a statement in support of competitors from all countries – but especially the ones from Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus.
Update on March 9th, 2022:
The Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition of Belgium just released the following statement.
UPDATE: March 17th, 2022
Honens International Competition released a second statement today, reversing its decision to revoke invitations of its Russian competitors, saying that “As a Board, we have actively engaged in difficult conversations and individual reflection leading to a reconsideration of our decision. Ultimately, we have decided to reinstate competitors of Russian nationality.”
More competitions are expected to release statements regarding their policies on the eligibility of their Russian competitors, an issue that has become hotly debated in recent weeks. Piano League has compiled a summary of policies by International Music Organizations here.
