Concertgebouw: Why we fired Daniele Gatti
mainThe general director of the Concertgebouw orchestra, Jan Raes, has given a full and frank interview on the events that led up to the dismissal of the music director on sexual harrassment allegations last summer.
The translation from Dutch in the interview may lose some nuances, but Raes makes it clear that, from the moment the first allegations were raised, he met with Gatti only in the presence of lawyers, a precaution that may have hindered rather than aided the procedure. ‘From day one we have asked for legal advice. No conversation with Gatti was conducted one-on-one.’
He adds that trust broke down between the two sides. ‘The trust quickly melted away, until the final phase, in which Gatti himself broke off the conversation. I do not know why.’
Is he saying that Gatti fired himself?
Read the full report here..
Gati is now music director at Rome Opera.
New development: https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2019/01/20/concertgebouworkest-spreekt-niet-de-waarheid-a3651041
So now it gets interesting, as Raes and Gatti juxtapose each other on when the allegations were discussed. Raes said earlier that Gatti changed his story in these conversations, so “trust melted away”. Gatti(‘s lawyers): Which conversations?… To be continued .
Automatic translation of the link above:
Gatti lawyers: ‘Concertgebouw Orchestra does not speak the truth’.
Conductor Gatti was not given the opportunity to defend himself against the new charges of improper conduct, his lawyers say.
Daniele Gatti’s lawyers, who were dismissed as chief conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO) last summer, reacted strongly on Sunday evening to the interviews that Concertgebouw Orchestra director Jan Raes gave last week, including in the NRC.
In the statement, the lawyers write that Raes “makes statements that do not correspond with the truth”. The main accusation is that conductor Gatti was not given the opportunity to defend himself against the new charges of inappropriate behaviour, this time from Amsterdam.
In the light of Raes’ recent statements, Gatti is now forced to “acknowledge that the management of the Concertgebouw Orchestra no longer has any intention of reaching a friendly settlement”. Gatti is forced to “act accordingly”.
Contrary to what is claimed, according to Gatti’s lawyers, the talks between Gatti and representatives of the orchestra were only about the content of the article that appeared in The Washington Post on 26 July 2018. In it, two singers accuse Gatti of sexual transborder behavior that allegedly took place in 1996 and 2000. According to the lawyers, there was no mention of new reports by female staff members of the Concertgebouw Orchestra.
After the orchestra announced on 2 August 2018 that it would “immediately terminate” its collaboration with Gatti, Gatti and his lawyers claimed that they had immediately requested a meeting with the orchestra’s management. That meeting did not take place until 19 November. A request for access to the recent complaints by female RCO staff members was not granted by the orchestra. However, Raes would have denied in that conversation, asked about the nature of Gatti’s alleged “inappropriate behaviour”, that his behaviour could be described as “sexually transgressive”.
Lawyers from both parties then tried to arrive at a common statement. That did not happen “because Gatti did not want to give up financial compensation”, according to his lawyers. Since then the talks have been suspended, but “the negotiations have never officially ended”.
Gatti and his lawyers accuse the orchestra that public accusations have been made against him without him having had the opportunity to defend himself against them, a method he calls “incorrect and utterly reprehensible”.
Director Jan Raes reacted on Sunday evening in the TV programme Podium Witteman. He mentioned Gatti’s claim that the Amsterdam reports in the discussions prior to the terminated cooperation on 2 August had not been discussed “completely incorrect”.
Gatti’s statement did not come directly from his lawyer, but from the Italian communication agency Skill&Music, which specialises in classical music. In addition to Gatti’s first lawyer Alberto Borbon, Matteo Guidotti of a second law firm is now also signing.