Gergiev is fired by his agent - Slipped Disc

norman lebrecht

February 27, 2022

A message from Markus Felsner in Munich seems to confirm expectations that the city will tear up Gergiev’s contract tomorrow:

Today I have informed Maestro Valery Gergiev that he is no longer a client of Felsner Artists.
In the light of the criminal war waged by the Russian regime against the democratic and independent nation of Ukraine,
and against the European open society as a whole, it has become impossible for us, and clearly unwelcome, to defend the
interests of Maestro Gergiev, 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.
Valery Gergiev is for me, and will continue to be, the greatest conductor alive and an extraordinary human being with a
profound sense of decency, whose relentless commitment has helped countless artists to build their international careers and
has brought the beauty of music to millions of people around the world. The work of his life are the thousands of phenomenal
musicians, dancers and other employees of the Mariinsky Theatre and their families, for whom he has always felt responsible, as
family. Maestro Gergiev has merits for the arts unparalleled by virtually any living artist.
It would be utterly wrong to hold artists accountable simply because of their nationality. All art is political, but not all
artists are politicians. However, artists also understand the clear difference between patriotism and active political support of
one’s nation’s current government. My most sincere hope is that the State Academic Mariinsky Theatre and its director Valery
Gergiev will soon enjoy the freedom to represent a nation in the world that is rightly proud, not only of its immense artistic
heritage, the beauty of its language and its wonderfully talented people, but also of the adherence of its leaders to peace, the

open society and the rule of law. When a government viciously attacks the order of peace on which our entire continent was re-
built, a previously outspoken political supporter of that government, holding a government-supported office, cannot in my

personal view, in a seemingly neutral way, appeal to ‘both sides‘ for peace, or remain altogether silent. Nor can those who serve
him with love and devotion.
I am personally heartbroken. At the same time, I could not possibly continue our professional services for any of our
artists, or look in the mirror, knowing that we might directly or indirectly benefit in any way whatsoever from a regime that wages
war against us all. This is the saddest day of my professional life. My thoughts are with Valery Gergiev but, more so, with the
millions of victims of the criminal war unfolding before our eyes.

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