Russian musicians under pressure: three conductors resign

In Russia, three important conductors at state institutions have resigned.

Vasily Petrenko, chief conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, resigns as director of the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra "Evgeny Svetlanov".

Thomas Sanderling resigns from the position of Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Academic Philharmonic Orchestra in Novosibirsk.

And Tugan Sokhiev is resigning as music director of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.

Petrenko and Sanderling strongly and unequivocally condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In addition to the bombing of Ukrainian cities, Sanderling also cited the growing totalitarianism in Russia as a reason for resigning, which nevertheless pained him because he was born in Novosibirsk.

Sokhiev avoided commenting on the war and Putin.

At the same time, he resigned from his position as head of the orchestra in Toulouse because the authorities there are torpedoing his Russian-French festival.

The double coercion of silence in Russia and de facto obligation to confess in the West presents all artists who run state institutions in Russia with the same decision.