On 26 April 2009, Zimerman vowed to his audience at Los Angeles's Walt Disney Concert Hall that, in protest at America's placement of a missile defense shield in Poland, this would be his final appearance in the United States.[2][10] He had made a similar comment in 2006, stating he would not return until George W. Bush was out of office.[11] As of September 2023[update] he has not made any further appearances in the United States.[12]
Part of his disenchantment with the USA may be the increased security at US airports, which makes it difficult to bring his piano into the country. In incidents in 2001 and 2006, one of his Steinway pianos was completely destroyed and another one damaged by security staff at New York JFK airport.[13][14][15][16][17]
^Lutz, Kiki (2012-09-17). "Zimerman, Krystian (1956-)". Lexikon des Jura (in German). Archived from the original on 2022-12-26. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
^"Musik-Tipp: Krystian Zimerman". Wochenblatt. Amtlicher Anzeiger für das Schwarzbubenlandund das Laufental (in German). 2022-12-15. p. 19. Archived from the original on 2022-12-26. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
^Marta Polańska. "Po prostu Krystin Zimerman". polskamuza.eu (in Polish). Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)