Valery Gergiev, Putin’s ally, fired as chief conductor in Munich
Valery Gergiev, Russia’s star maestro and a prominent supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was removed from his post as chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic on Tuesday after refusing to condemn Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Dieter Reiter, the mayor of Munich, announced his decision in a press release that terminating Mr Gergiev’s contract was the only option available.
Mr Gergiev’s sudden dismissal, three years before his contract expired, was the biggest failure to date for the conductor, who has been the subject of widespread anger and condemnation in recent days for his long experience in supporting Mr Putin and his policies. .
The city said Mr Gergiev, who had held the post of chief conductor since 2015, had not responded to a request from Mr Reiter on Friday to condemn Mr Putin’s “brutal war of aggression” by Monday. or be fired.
The press release says that “with immediate effect there will be no more concerts of the Munich Philharmonic” under the baton of conductor Mr. Gergiev.
Mr Reiter said in a statement that “I would expect him to reconsider and reconsider his very positive assessment of the Russian leader. He didn’t do it. ” Termination is the only option, the statement added.
Mr Gergiev, one of Russia’s most prominent cultural ambassadors, is facing the loss of a number of concerts and tours around the world since Mr Putin’s invasion began on Thursday, prompting a long list of performing arts institutions to end. your relationships with him. But the loss of his leadership position at the helm of a major European orchestra has far more serious implications for his international career.
This is a stunning twist for Mr. Gergiev, whose full schedule and regular engagements with many of the world’s leading concert halls and opera houses led the Bachtrack website, which collects statistics on classical music performances, to declare him the busiest conductor in the world. in the last few seasons.
Mr Gergiev is a prominent supporter of Mr Putin, supports his re-election and has appeared at concerts in Russia and abroad to promote his policies. The two have known each other since the early 1990s, when Mr Putin was an official in St. Petersburg and Mr Gergiev began his term as leader of the Mariinsky, then called Kirov.
Mr Putin has played an important role in Mr Gergiev’s success, providing funding for the Mariinsky Theater, where Mr Gergiev is the general and artistic director.
Understand Russia’s attack on Ukraine
What is the basis of this invasion? Russia considers Ukraine in its natural sphere of influence and is concerned about Ukraine’s proximity to the West and the prospect of the country joining NATO or the European Union. Although Ukraine is not part of either, it receives financial and military assistance from the United States and Europe.
His international engagements began to wane last week when Carnegie Hall and the Vienna Philharmonic missed him on a series of performances. On Sunday, Mr. Gergiev’s manager announced that he was ending his relationship with his client.
Manager Marcus Felsner said in a statement that it had become impossible to defend Mr. Gergiev, whom he described as “one of the greatest conductors of all time, a visionary artist, loved and admired by many of us who would not. or it cannot publicly end its long-standing support for a regime that has come to commit such crimes. “
The consequences continued on Monday, with the Verbier Festival in Switzerland saying it had asked for and accepted Mr Gergiev’s resignation as music director of the festival orchestra. (The festival also said it would ban other artists who have shown support for Mr Putin’s actions, and would return donations from people sanctioned by Western governments.)
The Edinburgh International Festival in Scotland, where Mr Gergiev was honorary president, also said Monday that he had resigned after being asked to do so. The Philharmonic de Paris, a performing arts complex in France, has announced that it will cancel two concerts in April with Mr Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra. And the Lucerne festival in Switzerland said it canceled two performances in August with Mr Gergiev and Mr Mariinsky.
“In view of Russia’s military actions in violation of international law, we are sending a clear signal of solidarity to the people of Ukraine,” said Michael Hafliger, executive and artistic director of the festival.
Several other institutions have threatened to cancel Mr Gergiev’s commitments unless he condemns the attack on Ukraine, including the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Teatro la Scala and the Elbfilharmonic in Hamburg.
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