Russian Conductor & Putin Supporter Valery Gergiev No Longer On Carnegie Hall Weekend Roster

Valery Gergiev, the Russian conductor and longtime supporter of Russian president Vladimir Putin, will not take the stage at Carnegie Hall with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra as planned this weekend, with a spokeswoman for the famed venue explaining that the change “was made due to recent world events.”

Whether the conductor withdrew from the program or was removed remains unclear. The Carnegie Hall website has posted a notice saying only, “Please note that Yannick Nézet-Séguin will conduct the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in place of Valery Gergiev. The program remains unchanged.” Nézet-Séguin is the music director of the Metropolitan Opera and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

According to The New York Times, pianist Denis Matsuev, another Putin supporter, also has been dropped from the Vienna Philharmonic’s performance tonight. A replacement has not been announced.

The Vienna Philharmonic is set for three Carnegie Hall performances this weekend, beginning tonight.

Gergiev has come under fire before for his political association with Putin. In 2014, he was among various Russian cultural leaders who signed an open letter supporting Russia’s annexation of Crimea, and in 2013 the LGBTQ activists Queer Nation interrupted performances of orchestras conducted by Gergiev at New York’s Metropolitan Opera and Carnegie Hall.

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