Russian Conductor Fired by Two Orchestras for Failing to Denounce Invasion

Valery Gergiev, a 68-year-old Russian conductor and prominent supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has lost his position as conductor and honorary conductor of the Munich Philharmonic and the Rotterdam Philharmonic in the Netherlands, respectively.

Both of the orchestras issued warnings to Gergiev last week regarding his past support of Putin, urging him to condemn Putin's decisions and the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, but he has reportedly stayed silent, according to the Associated Press.

Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter requested that Gergiev "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."

Gergiev, who has been conductor in Munich since 2015, reportedly did not respond to the request, which led to Reiter and the philharmonic announcing an "immediate separation."

Representatives from the Rotterdam Philharmonic spoke with Gergiev Sunday, but the conversation showed that "insurmountable differences remained," according to the philharmonic's statement. Gergiev has worked with the Rotterdam Philharmonic since 1988, and the festival bearing Gergiev's name held by the philharmonic will also be disbanded, as the philharmonic said it has begun looking for alternate events and concerts to hold instead.

Gergiev and Russian opera singer Anna Netrebko also saw their "existing engagements" with the Bavarian State Opera canceled Tuesday by Serge Dorny, the venue's managing director, over their "lack of sufficient distancing" from Russia's actions in Ukraine.

While Netrebko did issue a statement opposing the war, her lack of condemnation of Putin, possibly because she cannot safely do so, was enough to also lead the Zurich Opera House to last week make the decision to give Netrebko "time and space to reflect on the situation, and to determine and articulate her own position to the events," the opera house said in a statement.

"We see this statement as a positive development, and take note that she cannot distance herself further from Vladimir Putin. As a matter of principle, we do not consider it appropriate to judge the decisions and actions of citizens of repressive regimes based on the perspective of those living in a Western European democracy," the statement continued.

In the days since the invasion began, Netrebko decided not to appear for multiple performances in Zurich later this month, the opera house said.

Gergiev has also seen concerts and partnerships with other venues around the world canceled since the onset of the invasion, in addition to the conductor's manager severing ties with him.

The statement from Gergiev's now-former manager called him "one of the greatest conductors of all time, a visionary artist loved and admired by many of us, who will not, or cannot, publicly end his long-expressed support for a regime that has come to commit such crimes."

Carnegie Hall and the Vienna Philharmonic canceled performances involving Gergiev, along with other venues and festivals in Paris and Switzerland that have either canceled scheduled performances or requested and accepted his resignation from positions such as festival music director and honorary president.

Update 3/1/22 12:18 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information and context.