Pianist Schaghajegh Nosrati Cancels U.S. Tour in Response to Trump Policies

“This is not the America that I got to know and love during my previous travels and concert tours,” Nosrati explained

The German pianist Schaghajegh Nosrati has joined violinist Christian Teztlaff and the Tetzlaff Quartet as international artists who have chosen to withdraw their U.S. concert dates in protest of Trump policies. 

Nosrati was set to appear in recitals on November 9, 12, and 13, which have been “canceled for political reasons,” as stated on her website. 

The performances included a recital by invitation of the Chopin Society in Minneapolis, a concert with the Celebrity Series of Boston, at the Pittman Hall of the Longy School of Music, and a recital with the Portland Ovations in Portland, Maine. 

Although canceling her concerts “will not change anything politically,” she explains that it is a “necessary step at a time when clear criticism is required from all public figures.”

She now joins an increasing number of American artists who have withdrawn their concerts at The Kennedy Center also in protest of Trump’s policies in the arts. 

Recently, the French cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras also shared his stance on the direction of the arts under Trump. Queyras is keeping his U.S. tour dates but will be donating the proceeds to Ukraine President Zelensky’s United24 Foundation. 

“It is with a heavy heart that I have to announce my decision to cancel my USA tour planned for this fall,” Nosrati posted on Facebook. “It causes me great emotional pain to observe the direction in which the country is developing under the Trump administration. One of the world’s longest-standing democracies is giving way to an increasingly autocratic regime that claims the right to interfere in cultural institutions and sciences and dismiss masses of people who do not conform to the government’s ideology. 

“It is extremely disturbing to see how facts are being distorted and the American people are being deliberately misinformed, with the result that no one can distinguish between true and false news any more,” she continued. “But more than anything, I am shocked by the complete lack of empathy from political leaders, both in their rhetoric and in their treatment of those who desperately need help. 

“This is not the America that I got to know and love during my previous travels and concert tours. Of course, there is a distinction to be made between the government and the people, and I know so many brilliant and liberal-minded Americans who are suffering horribly under the current administration. But the fact that a criminal like Trump has been democratically elected by a majority for the second time is a sad reality that we have to face. As an artist, I feel obliged to take a clear stance and protest against injustice. Canceling my concerts will not change anything politically, but it seems to be a necessary step at a time when clear criticism is required from all public figures.”

Since winning the 2014 Leipzig Bach Competition, Nosrati has performed at the Essen Philharmonie, Palais des Beaux Arts Brussels, Lucerne Festival, Tonhalle Zurich, Musikverein Vienna, Vancouver Playhouse, The Kennedy Center, Palau de la Música Catalana Barcelona, Berlin Philharmonie, Wigmore Hall, and Carnegie Hall. 

 In the 2022/23 season, she was an Artist in Residence at the Beethovenhaus Bonn and was a soloist with the Beethovenorchester Bonn; Nosrati is also a founding member of the Joolaee Trio. 

From 2015 to 2019, she worked as a lecturer at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, and from 2020, she has been an assistant to Sir András Schiff at the Barenboim-Said Academy in Berlin.