In Toulouse, the musicians of the Capitol defend Tugan Sokhiev and castigate the attitude of an elected official
The resignation of Tugan Sokhiev from the Capitol Orchestra continues to create a stir. In an open letter to Toulouse elected officials, the musicians renew their support for the Russian chef.
While he was to leave now this summer, Tugan Sokhiev had to resign prematurely from the musical direction of the Capitol orchestra in early March, at the same time as he was ending his contract with the Bolshoi in Moscow. The leader felt compelled to do so, the mayor of Toulouse having insisted that he “express himself” on the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, his country. Finding his position “untenable”, Tugan Sokhiev cut short by breaking an already long and fruitful complicity with two orchestras he adored.
The painful affair could have ended there if certain Toulouse elected representatives of the majority like Sacha Briand had not come to stir up the embers with peremptory declarations on “the necessary position taken” by Russian artists in the face of the war. The musicians of the Capitol, who have continued to support Tugan Sokhiev since his resignation, expressed their emotion as a prelude to the concert of the orchestra, on March 25, at the Halle aux Grains (read our edition of the next day).
“Disastrous consequences”
They go further with an open letter from their union representative, Yves Sapir (1), addressed to Sacha Briand, with a copy to all the elected officials of Toulouse Métropole. On nearly 5 pages, they express their anger at Sacha Briand who, in the media and within the confines of the metropolitan council, “threw to popular condemnation one of the greatest leaders of our time, heard from a smug tone that he lacked courage. And Yves Sapir continues: “Your explanations and your positions have offended our fellow artists and beyond that many of your fellow citizens… We therefore cannot remain without reacting to your remarks which seem to us unfounded for some and for others totally unacceptable”. The musician recalls that Tugan Sokhiev “never
presented as a supporter of the Putin regime”. And that he had every right to conduct Shostakovich’s “7th Symphony” on March 18, which is “a passionate denunciation of all war crimes”, without causing the slightest “risk” (the concert was canceled). Surprised that an elected official “in charge of finance speaks publicly about the meaning and aesthetics of a symphonic work”, Yves Sapir confronts him with the “disastrous consequences, in terms of images, of (his) attitude denounced by thousands of Internet users around the world, by hundreds of national and international media…” Hoping now, like all the musicians of the Orchester du Capitole, that this “blunder” will be repaired by “re-establishing the link with this immense artist that is Tugan Sokhiev”.