Conductor Christian Thielemann has made differentiated statements about the case of his Russian colleague Valery Gergiev. “I often have a bit too much malice in this discussion,” said Thielemann on Wednesday in Dresden. Gergiev is a great conductor. “I also know him personally quite well. We have never discussed politics. But I have to say I admire him a lot.” Gergiev is one of the colleagues with whom he likes to go to concerts.
Gergiev lost his job as head of the Munich Philharmonic on Tuesday because of his friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Russian had previously allowed an ultimatum to clearly distance itself from Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. Other orchestras and concert halls also canceled planned performances by Gergiev, who has repeatedly proved to be a supporter of Putin and is considered number one on the Russian classical music scene.
By his own admission, Thielemann also has a very good relationship with the Russian opera star Anna Netrebko. She had canceled all appearances for the coming months. Thielemann said he was very sorry for the development because the artistic performances of Netrebko and Gergiev were incredibly good. If you can no longer hear them, it’s a shame: “I miss the human aspect a bit in this discussion.”
FPÖ against the exclusion of Russian artists
Meanwhile, the culture spokesman for the Viennese FPÖ, Stefan Berger, criticized the termination of contracts with artists from Russia: “All artists should be allowed to do their work regardless of their citizenship and not constantly be forced to make political statements.” Everyone is free to buy a ticket for a cultural event or not. “But depriving someone of the opportunity to pursue their profession because of their nationality shouldn’t happen in a democratic country,” demands Berger. (apa)