When the Wiener Festwochen, a prestigious festival that brings leading international artists to Vienna, announced this spring’s lineup, the backlash was swift and fierce. The festival had planned to make the Russian invasion of Ukraine a focus of its programming, juxtaposing an appearance by the Ukrainian conductor Oksana Lyniv with a concert by the maestro Teodor Currentzis, who has faced scrutiny over his connections to Russia. Critics, including Lyniv, had argued that the pairing was insensitive and ignored the suffering of Ukrainians. Now, after weeks of pressure, the festival has abandoned its plan, saying that it would cancel the appearance by Currentzis while moving forward with the one by Lyniv. “The decision was clear and there was no alternative,” Milo Rau, the festival’s artistic director, said in an interview on Tuesday.

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Persons: Wiener, Oksana Lyniv, Teodor Currentzis, Currentzis, Milo Rau Locations: Vienna, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russia