Star Maestro With Russian Ties to Depart German Orchestra

The conductor Teodor Currentzis, who has been criticized for the reason that begin of the struggle in Ukraine due to his ties to a state-owned financial institution in Russia, will step down as chief conductor of a outstanding German orchestra in 2025, the ensemble introduced on Friday.

Currentzis, who has led the ensemble, the SWR Symphony Orchestra in Stuttgart, since 2018, will depart his put up when his contract expires on the finish of the 2024-25 season, the orchestra mentioned. He will likely be changed by François-Xavier Roth, who leads the Gürzenich Orchestra in Cologne, Germany.

The SWR Symphony Orchestra has confronted stress in current months to chop ties with Currentzis due to his affiliation with VTB Financial institution, a Russian state-owned establishment that has been sanctioned by america and different international locations. VTB is the primary sponsor of Currentzis’s longtime ensemble, MusicAeterna.

In an announcement to The New York Instances, the SWR mentioned Currentzis’s departure had been determined final 12 months and had nothing to do with considerations about his Russia ties.

“The announcement of at present will not be associated to the dialogue in regards to the financing of MusicAeterna,” Matthias Claudi, a spokesman for SWR, mentioned. He added that the orchestra hoped to proceed to work with Currentzis after he steps down.

A consultant for Currentzis didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

Currentzis, 50, is one in every of classical music’s most outstanding conductors. Because the begin of the struggle, his profession has been sophisticated by questions on Russian help, with some presenters canceling or suspending engagements. He has been denounced for his silence on the struggle and criticized for working with associates of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, together with some who sit on the board of MusicAeterna’s basis. Putin awarded Currentzis, who was born in Greece, citizenship by presidential decree in 2014.

Working to get past questions on his Russian benefactors, Currentzis introduced in August that he would kind a brand new worldwide ensemble, known as Utopia, with the help of donors outdoors Russia. The benefactors embrace a non-public basis known as Kunst und Kultur DM, which is affiliated with Dietrich Mateschitz, an Austrian businessman who’s a founding father of Pink Bull. Starting subsequent month, Utopia will tour Europe, persevering with via subsequent 12 months.

Currentzis has continued to carry out with MusicAeterna, which he based in Siberia in 2004, typically earlier than sold-out crowds.