Turkish pianist's concerts in Switzerland cancelled over Israel criticism

World-renowned Turkish composer and pianist Fazil Say has said his concerts planned next week in Switzerland were cancelled by organisers over his social media posts criticising Israeli policies in Gaza.

Say was due to perform with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in Zurich, Bern, Geneva and Lucerne from Monday to Thursday.

But he says he was removed from the lineup of the planned concerts organised by the event unit of the retail company Migros.

"Officials from Migros cited the ideas I expressed on the Israel-Palestine tension on my social media as the reason," Say posted on his official social media account on X, formerly Twitter. "Everything I've written remains on my social media without any changes."

A Migros spokesperson confirmed to AFP on Saturday that Say had been removed from the concert programme and replaced by Swiss pianist Louis Schwizgebel. 

"The reason for this change is that Fazil Say's public statements after the terrorist attack against Israel are not defendable for Migros," the company said in a statement sent to AFP.