In a statement, the board of the competition said that Ivanov had assigned Beethoven's "Path_tique" Sonata to O'Lone and that his plea to be allowed to play the Chopin had been rejected. O'Lone played the Beethoven work in rehearsal, the statement said, but when it came time to perform, announced that he would be playing the Chopin.

At that point, the statement said, "Mrs. Ivanov lowered the lid slightly (while holding it in her hands) so he could not continue to play and asked him to leave the stage."

The board also said that O'Lone's family had screamed obscenities at Ivanov.