INFO THE DEPECHE. Toulouse Mayor Jean-Luc Moudenc explains how Tugan Sokhiev will be replaced as head of the Capitol
In an exclusive interview with “La Dépêche du Midi”; the mayor of Toulouse, Jean-Luc Moudenc, tells the backstage of the broadcast of the conductor of the Capitol, Tugan Sokhiev, and discusses his succession.
In an exclusive interview with “La Dépêche du Midi”; the mayor of Toulouse, Jean-Luc Moudenc, tells the backstage of the broadcast of the conductor of the Capitol, Tugan Sokhiev, and discusses his succession. The famous Russian conductor announced this Sunday on his Facebook page his broadcast at the head of the Orchester National du Capitole de Toulouse and that of the Bolshoi Orchestra in Moscow. Jean-Luc Moudenc had asked him to speak about the conflict in Ukraine before the two concerts he was to conduct in Toulouse, on March 18 and 19, but Tugan Sokhiev did not wish to take a position. Maintenance.
Do you expect the broadcast of Tugan Sokhiev when in a letter of March 2 you renewed your confidence in him and even proposed the name of the chef emeritus?
No, I didn’t expect that. We launched the process of his succession last year by offering him to become chef emeritus at the end of his contract, in June. This would have allowed him to still conduct the Orchester du Capitole. Besides, he had let me know that he would come to Toulouse to perform the concerts on March 18 and 19. Nothing therefore prejudged a show.
Should he be asked to speak about the situation in Ukraine, knowing that it would implicitly lead to taking a position on the conflict?
You have to put the problem upside down: what would have been the situation if I hadn’t asked him anything? A controversy would have developed and it would have been worse. Toulouse is a town twinned with Kiev and during the demonstrations of support which took place in Toulouse, I was arrested on several occasions. We could have acted as if nothing had happened but there would have been a controversy and he would have been drawn into it. It would have been untenable for Tugan Sokhiev to remain silent. And even if he had come to lead the concerts on March 18 and 19, could he have acted as if nothing had happened? That’s why I wrote him a letter in which I ask him to speak. I didn’t make it public so as not to put pressure on him and give him time. I didn’t force him into anything. But in the current situation, it would have been unthinkable to remain absentee subscribers. This is my responsibility. I remind you that until its broadcast, the status of Tugan Sokhiev was that of contract agent of the community.
When one of your assistants, Sacha Briand, regrets that he didn’t write a word about Ukraine when he announced his resignation, isn’t that clumsy?
I let Toulouse residents, whether elected, musicians or citizens, freely appropriate Tugan Sokhiev’s proposals. There are those who will understand that he will take refuge in neutrality to preserve his career in Russia and to protect his family; and then others who will regret that he does not say a word about democracy, peace or Ukraine.
“The replacement process has already been initiated”
Could the new auditorium project play into his decision to leave Toulouse?
I do not think so. It is such an important and complex project that Tugan Sokhiev was aware that it could not see the light of day as quickly as he and I would have liked. When I recruited him in 2005 he was only 28 and it was a bold bet. He succeeded and under his direction the Orchester du Capitole took new steps. Today he is 44 years old, he is in the middle of his career and his future lies elsewhere. In the world of classical music, the playing field is global. Chefs like Michel Plasson, who stayed in the same place for a third of a century, no longer exist. Today mobility and internationality are the rule.
Who will succeed Tugan Sokhiev?
I have the experience of having settled the succession of Michel Plasson, so I will rely on it. We had set up a method, several conductors had been received and I had trusted the advice of elected officials, musicians or even critics to retain Tugan Sokhiev. I hope his succession will be similarly successful. The replacement process has already been initiated, conductors of different nationalities have already been received. We are by no means taken aback. We are listening, we want to take the time.
Tugan Sokhiev criticizes the town hall for not having supported the Franco-Russian Musicales festival, on your side you speak of conflicts of interest… What is the nature of the problem?
I find Tugan Sokhiev’s comments completely out of place. The Franco-Russian Musicales have nothing to do with the current situation and he knows it perfectly. We were alerted last year by the ethics officer to a situation involving four entities with non-compliant legal ties: the Orchester du Capitole, the Association des Musicales Franco-Russes, an executive of the Orchestra who has since retired and another Toulouse cultural association. We have put an end to this situation and to Toulouse’s participation in the Franco-Russian Musicales while waiting for the definition of a new project on this theme.