The Russian conductor Valery Gergiev has lost his position as chief of the Munich Philharmonic because of his friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) dismissed the 68-year-old on Tuesday with immediate effect. This was preceded by an ultimatum that was given to Gergiev by Monday evening. The conductor did not comment on the request to “clearly and unequivocally distance oneself from the brutal war of aggression that Putin is waging against Ukraine and now especially against our twin city of Kyiv,” the mayor explained. The Berliner Zeitung reported about it in the Tuesday edition. Gergiev has been chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra since 2015.
He had previously been criticized for his friendship with the Russian President. In 2014, he signed an artist’s appeal for Russia’s annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, which was tantamount to a commitment to Putin’s policies. With the outbreak of war, Gergiev’s political stance diminished his reputation and further restricted his job opportunities. His artist agency in Munich informed the public on Monday afternoon that he had parted ways.
The Hamburg Elbphilharmonie justified the cancellation of two concerts planned for Easter with Valery Gergiev and the orchestra of the Mariinsky Theater on Tuesday with the conductor’s “persistent silence” on the invasion of Ukraine. The Paris Philharmonic canceled concerts with him in early April – “out of solidarity with the Ukrainian people”. The Festspielhaus Baden-Baden is also ending its collaboration with Gergiev, as announced on Tuesday. Gergiev was given the opportunity to express himself. “There was no reaction to that.” He resigned from his post as Honorary President of the Edinburgh International Festival after “considerable pressure”. Edinburgh is also a twin city of the capital of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the internationally acclaimed soprano Anna Netrebko canceled all performances “until further notice”. “It’s not the right time for me to perform and make music. I hope that my audience will understand this decision,” she said about the organizer River Concerts on Tuesday. The concert with her husband Yusif Eyvazov planned for March 2nd in Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie will be postponed to September 7th. She was against this war, the singer wrote on Instagram at the weekend: “I am Russian and love my country, but I have many friends in Ukraine, and the pain and suffering breaks my heart.” (BLZ/dpa)