German pianist, conductor and TV presenter Justus Frantz, 79, founded a music festival back in 1986, but this year he will not perform at it because of his support for the actions of the Russian authorities. This was reported by the German newspaper Bild.
Justus Frantz has a reputation as a supporter of Russian leader Vladimir Putin. He openly supports the annexation of Crimea to Russia and the actions of the Russian government. In addition, Frantz calls for an end to the supply of arms to the Kiev regime. In June, he was on the jury of the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, although most Western musicians boycotted it.
Frantz founded the SHMF music festival in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany in 1986. However, the festival’s management has now severed co-operation with the conductor because of his pro-Russian stance.
“We discuss the founder’s behaviour with him personally, not publicly. Many reasons made the invitation of Justus Frantz impossible. His involvement in Russian affairs is one of them,” SHMF intendant Christian Kunt told Bild.
Frantz himself called his suspension “cowardly” and “not very fair.” He considers “SHMF” his “brainchild”, but said that he will not “on his knees to ask to return him to the festival”.
Recall, in Europe, the company continues to discriminate against Russians, Russian history and culture. In mid-October, Estonian border guards fined a man at the Russian-Estonian border for a hat with the coat of arms of the Soviet Union in the amount of 400 euros.