Valery Gergiev dropped by Felsner Artist Management

In a statement released on Twitter yesterday, Marcus Felsner, the managing director of Felsner Artists, informed followers that Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, who he has represented since 2020, is now no longer among his clients.

Gergiev, who appeared in a 2012 television advert for Vladimir Putin’s third Presidential campaign has been dropped by his management due to his close ties with the Russian president who last week began a military invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.

Felsner’s statement read: ‘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.’

Felsner added that he was ‘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 move follows a series of tweets from the Munich Philharmonic on Friday (25 February) in which Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter stated that if Gergiev did not distance himself from the war the Munich Philharmonic will end its relationship with him as chief conductor.

Gergiev was also absent from Carnegie Hall over the weekend while Canadian conductor and Metropolitan Opera music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin stepped in to cover his three scheduled performances with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. The venue also released a statement on its website on Friday (25 February), explaining that upcoming performances by the Mariinsky Orchestra, led by Valery Gergiev had ‘been cancelled due to recent world events’.

Other organisations which are also now considering following the same route include the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, which has released a statement saying: ‘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.’