Star violinist calls Gergiev’s dismissal “overdue”
Conductor Valeri Gergiev was eliminated from the Munich Philharmonic because he did not want to distance himself from Putin’s war of aggression in Ukraine. Star violinist Lisa Batiashvili supports the move.
The violinist Lisa Batiashvili supports the expulsion of the Russian conductor and Putin friend Valeri Gergiev from the Munich Philharmonic. “Definitely yes. A bit overdue in my opinion,” she explained in an interview with the “Passauer Neue Presse” when asked whether the expulsion was a good decision.
“To be honest, someone who supports war and occupation doesn’t belong on a free European stage for me,” said star violinist Batiashvili.
The city of Munich had 68-year-old Gergiev, who is considered a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, eliminate as head of the Munich Philharmonicfor not publicly distancing himself from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Conductor backed the annexation of Crimea in 2014
When it became known in March 2014 that Gergiev had supported the annexation of Crimea in an open letter together with other Russian artists, there had been protests.
In the interview, Batiashvili, who was born in Georgia in 1979 and came to Germany with her parents when she was a child, also recalled the war in her home country in 2008: Within a few days, Georgia suffered a defeat against Russia and finally lost the provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Star violinist in Munich: “Annexion and war were tolerated for too long”
“Since 2008, I have repeatedly tried to express my worries and my pain so that people could become aware of the dangers,” said Batiashvili. “All of this – including the annexation of Crimea, the war in eastern Ukraine – has been tolerated for too long and it is now too late to react appropriately.”
A solidarity concert for war-torn Ukraine is planned for this Tuesday in the Berlin Philharmonie. In addition to the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, violinist Batiashvili will also perform there.
“We want on 15.3. with various soloists, who also have their say, send a very clear signal to the people from the capital of Germany,” Batiashvili emphasized to the “Passauer Neue Presse”. “It’s our job as musicians to express our opinions in the language we know best.”