The unconstitutional authorities of the Transnistrian region decided to ban the Tiraspol Symphonic Orchestra from participating in the Piano Nights Festival. Thus, the Chisinau Orchestra will perform instead of the Tiraspol Orchestra on July 7 in Chisinau and on July 8 in Tiraspol, directed by French conductor Misha Katz, Info-Prim Neo reports. The festival organizers say Vladimir Yastrebcheak, the Transnistrian official in charge of international relations, initially gave his consent to holding the performances in oral and written form. “The Transnistrian authorities did not fulfill their commitments and provided vague, politically-motivated explanations through the phone,” the French Alliance in Moldova says in a communiqué. “This sudden, regrettable decision by the Transnistrian authorities is aimed at preventing the musicians in Transnistria from participating in a prestigious international festival held under the aegis of France and at depriving the public from the banks of the Nistru of two exceptional evenings,” the communiqué reads. The festival began on June 24. The organizers announced that all the tickets had been sold. The French Alliance in Moldova and the Embassy of France have organized the festival for piano and orchestra Piano Nights in Moldova – the Black Sea for eight years.