The society is among the first in the North American arts world to take a firm stand in support of Ukraine. The artistic director of the Vancouver Recital Society said she stands by the group’s decision to cancel a concert by Russian pianist Alexander Malofeev in response to the war in Ukraine, calling the choice a “horrible” one to make. Leila Getz said she has been trying to book the 20-year-old “Russian genius” for six years, with two previous concerts postponed by pandemic-related issues. But even though there was a new date arranged for the event in August, the society...