Theodor Currentzis’ performance was canceled at the Vienna Festival

Organizers of the Vienna Music Festival canceled the performance of Russian conductor Teodor Kurentzis after Kyiv conductor Oksana Lyniv, who was also invited to participate in the festival, protested against his performance. This was reported in particular by The New York Times.

“I cannot be responsible for the fact that almost 150 musicians who are going to Vienna since the war will be put in the same context with Teodor Currentzis,” Oksana Lyniv said, calling for the cancellation of Currentzis’s performance scheduled for June 12. He was to perform Benjamin Britten’s “Military Requiem” in Vienna with the Symphony Orchestra of South-West German Radio (SWR). A few days later, the organizers announced that it was “impossible at the moment” to present both concerts – conducted by Ukrainian and Russian conductors – within the framework of one festival.

The conductor of Greek origin, who was also granted Russian citizenship, has been working in Russia for many years. He was the artistic director of opera theaters in Novosibirsk and Perm. Currentzis did not speak publicly either condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine or in support of it. As “Meduza” notes, in 2022 and 2023, Currentzis’ concerts in Europe were canceled several times. At the same time, the German orchestra, which he leads, said that they never asked Currentzis to publicly condemn the war, “taking into account the consequences that such a statement would have for Currentzis in Russia.”