Munich mayor says he may remove Russian conductor over Ukraine invasion

The mayor of Munich, Germany, threatened to remove the chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic orchestra from his post if the musician does not publicly condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by Monday.

The conductor, Valery Gergiev, has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched a military operation in Ukraine early Thursday. He previously backed the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, according to The Associated Press, 

“I have made my position clear to Valery Gergiev and have asked him to clearly and unequivocally distance himself from the brutal invasion that Putin is waging against Ukraine and now in particular against our twin city, Kyiv,” Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter said in a statement on Thursday, according to the AP. “If Valery Gergiev does not take a clear stance by Monday, he can no longer remain chief conductor of our philharmonic.”

The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in the Netherlands also warned it might cancel a planned September festival with Gergiev, according to the AP.

“In the event that Valéry Gergiev does not openly distance himself from President Putin’s actions in Ukraine, we will be forced to cancel all concerts conducted by Valéry Gergiev including the Gergiev Festival that would take place in September,” the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra said.

Gergiev was previously scheduled to lead the Vienna Philharmonic during the orchestra’s U.S. tour, which is set to begin Friday at Carnegie Hall in New York, but following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine Carnegie Hall and the orchestra announced that he would no longer be doing so.

Teatro alla Scalla, a theater in Milan, also asked Gergiev to release a statement in favor of peace in Ukraine before he was allowed to conduct as planned in the city.

In addition to serving as chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic, Gergiev is the music director of the White Nights Festival and at the Mariinsky Theatre, both located in St. Petersburg, Russia, per the AP.

Gergiev was awarded with a Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation prize after the honor was reinstated by Putin in 2013.