Russian Conductor Of Munich Philharmonic Fired For Refusing to Denounce Putin

Valery Gergiev, the star Russian maestro and prominent supporter of President Vladimir Putin of Russia, was removed Tuesday from his post as chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic after he refused to denounce Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. https://t.co/1wE0leNqGr pic.twitter.com/KsnXMDQd7Y

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Valery Gergiev, the star Russian maestro and prominent supporter of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, was removed Tuesday from his post as chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic after he refused to denounce Mr. Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

And Anna Netrebko, the Russian diva who is one of opera's biggest international stars and also has ties to Mr. Putin, saw her upcoming engagements with the Bavarian State Opera canceled, and the Zurich Opera House announced that she had withdrawn from her next performances there.

Mr. Gergiev's abrupt dismissal, three years before his contract was set to expire, was the biggest setback yet for the conductor, who has been the target of widespread anger and condemnation in recent days for his long record of support for Mr. Putin, whom he has known for three decades.

Dieter Reiter, the mayor of Munich, said that Mr. Gergiev, who had held the post of chief conductor there since 2015, had failed to respond to a demand issued on Friday by Mr. Reiter that he condemn Mr. Putin's "brutal war of aggression" by Monday or be fired.

"I would have expected him to reconsider and revise his very positive assessment of Russia's leader," Mr. Reiter said in a statement. "He didn't."

Mr. Gergiev was also dismissed on Tuesday from his position as honorary conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. The orchestra's managers, who had also recently asked Mr. Gergiev to denounce Mr. Putin, said in a statement that they had spoken with Mr. Gergiev but could not resolve an "unbridgeable" divide. The orchestra said it was eliminating its "Gergiev Festival."