“I expected him to reconsider and reconsider his very positive assessment of the Russian leader,” Reiter said. “Once that doesn’t happen, the only option is to end the relationship immediately.”
The move to dismiss Gergiev, a prominent classical music conductor who has led the Munich Philharmonic from the 2015-16 season, was followed by widespread anger at the conductor for refusing to denounce Putin. Some of Gergiev’s concerts were canceled and he was asked to resign from honorary posts because he did not oppose the invasion.
Marcus Felsner, Gergiev’s manager, announced on Sunday that he was leaving his client because of Putin’s support. Felsner, who described Gergiev as “the greatest living conductor and an extraordinary human being with a deep sense of decency,” told the Guardian that the conductor did not and could not publicly end his long-standing support for a regime that had come to commit such crimes. “
“In the light of the criminal war waged by the Russian regime against the democratic and independent nation of Ukraine and against the European open society as a whole, it has become impossible and obviously undesirable for us to defend the interests of Maestro Gergiev. “Felsner said in a statement, noting that the decision to leave the conductor was” the saddest day of my professional life. “
Gergiev did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. He has not yet spoken publicly about Russia’s invasion.
The announcement comes as Russian forces mustered threatening force on Tuesday. While Ukrainian troops and ad hoc civilian militias provided tenacious protection for major cities, a Russian shell appears to have struck near the Kharkiv administration building and a convoy of tanks, troops and artillery more than 40 miles away threatened Kyiv. The five-hour talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations near the border with Belarus on Monday did not lead to a breakthrough, with both sides agreeing to continue discussions in the coming days.
Born in Moscow, Gergiev is a star maestro who regularly fills opera houses and concert halls. He has made no secret of his relationship with Putin, whom he has known for decades. The conductor backed Putin’s presidential campaign and sided with the Russian leader in exposing the Pussy Riot group, which spoke out against Putin’s control over the nation’s culture.
In addition to being a longtime artistic director of the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Gergiev was honored by Putin in 2013 as an official “Hero of Labor,” Atlantic reported. That same year, at the opening ceremony of a million-dollar expansion at the Mariinsky Theater, Putin toasted the birthday of Gergiev, who had just turned 60, according to the New Yorker.
In 2014, Gergiev was among those who signed a letter in support of Russia’s annexation of Crimea by Ukraine. He also conducted a concert in 2016 in front of Russian troops in the Syrian city of Palmyra shortly after he was captured by Islamic State, according to the BBC.
The world of classical music reacts to Gergiev’s recent inaction. The Verbier Festival in Switzerland has confirmed that Gergiev has resigned as music director at his request. He was removed from the five-concert tour of the Vienna Philharmonic in the United States, the Edinburgh International Festival and the Festspielhaus Theater in Germany. Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala told reporters on Monday that Gergiev would no longer conduct The Lady of the Spades at the La Scala Theater.
“I don’t think he will be there, I think we can rule that out at the moment,” said Sala, who is also chairman of La Scala, according to Reuters. Asked if Gergiev had responded to La Scala’s request for him to talk about the invasion, Sala said: “The maestro did not answer us.”
The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra also said it would refuse Gergiev if it continued to support Putin. The September festival, which was expected to take place, will be canceled if it does not oppose the invasion, the orchestra said.
Reiter, the mayor of Munich, noted that he terminated Gergiev’s contract three years before the expiration of his deal.
“With no immediate effect, there will be no more concerts by the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under his direction,” he said in a statement.