KB News Desk
All ticket holders to be offered full refunds
Music in PyeongChang announced on Thursday that Italian cellist Ettore Pagano, who had been scheduled to perform in the festival on July 30 and 31, may not be joining as planned, adding that affected ticket holders will be offered refunds.
According to the Korean festival, it concluded a formal engagement contract with Pagano on April 13 for the two concerts. Pagano subsequently won First Prize in the cello category of the Queen Elisabeth Competition on May 30.
The dispute arose days later. The festival said that on June 5, Pagano’s manager, Valerio Novara, cited a convention in place since 2018 under which a Queen Elisabeth laureate’s Korean tour is organized exclusively through SBU Management — including the winner’s first Korean performance. SBU had thus scheduled two Korean tours for Pagano in September and October 2026. On that basis, the festival said, Novara requested that the Pyeongchang engagement be rescheduled or postponed to 2027, noting that festival organizers could take the matter up with SBU directly.
By then, the festival said, Pagano’s concerts had already been announced, and tickets were nearly sold out. It said SBU told it the management company had no authority over the matter. The competition’s Marie Vander Elst called it a private contract between SBU and the artist and declined to intervene. The festival said it argued in writing that an engagement made in good faith before the results could not be annulled by any later arrangement, but got no response.
Music in PyeongChang maintains that a contract concluded in good faith before a competition’s results are known should be honoured regardless of subsequent developments, adding that Pagano had been engaged “in his own capacity as an artist — not as a Queen Elisabeth Competition laureate.” The festival said Pagano and Novara have not responded to two written requests for the flight and rehearsal arrangements needed for his appearance, leaving his participation uncertain.
The festival said it will offer full, fee-free refunds to all ticket holders who want them, ensure the rest of its program continues without disruption, and take all appropriate steps to prevent a recurrence. It also added that it “has long held the Queen Elisabeth Competition and its laureates in high regard” and hopes the collaboration will continue.
Pagano’s public relations manager did not respond to an emailed request for comment as of press time.
