Conductor is in trouble with his name, and his no-names
NewsThe Greek-Russian conductor Teodor Currentzis tried to draw a line under his Putin financing by announcing a new orchestra, called Utopia. Its opening performances will be heard next month in Vienna’s Konzertahaus and Berlin’s Philharmonie.
Just two problems.
Berlin’s Tagespiegel has remembered that the city already has an orchestra called ‘Utopia’. Founded by Mariano Domingo, it has been playing since 2008, bringing together musicians people with and without disabilities. Tricky, to be using the name of a disability charity.
Next, Currentzis has claimed he has broken with his Russian sponsors, the Putin bank VTB and the energy supplier Gazprom, which is promising to freeze the nuts off western Europe this winter. Even though he was pictured with them only this month.
Meanwhile, Currentzis refuses to name the shadowy backers of his new Utopia. For all we know, the finance may still be coming from front organisations for Russia’s war backers.
So if you go to hear Utopia, best to leave your conscience at home.
There are still many ways to rebrand money through offshore or Liechtenstein “foundations”. Ask the rich of the world. No biggie. The source of his money pipeline is likely unchanged in Russia, now just with a detour. He thinks he is so smart, but he really isn’t. Except so far he was the one laughing all the way to the bank. Stuttgart, we are looking at you, do you have any spine and balls left?
No talent and immoral. What a Utopia to be in.
This charlatan is so….So…SO irrelevant!!
Better to judge in our shoes than to live the life of the Russian artists. After Irak, Lybia, Afghanistan, we have a lot of lessons to give to the rest of the world…..
VTB Bank is still Musicaeterna General Partner, look at the Website under “Become a partner”. On his own website Currentzis announces as sponsor first the “Kultur & Kunst DM Privatstiftung” of Dietrich Mateschitz, the founder of Red Bull. The foundation funded also Addendum a research platform criticized for right wing populism as the TV channel “Servus TV” of the Red Bull-man is/was in talk-shows a platform for “querdenker” and also ultra-right identitarians as Martin Sellner. Currentzis still in funding of Putinistas, now sponsered by an ultra-right populism media and softdrink man
And on top of this, his salary as principal conductor of SWR Symphony Baden-Baden/Stuttgart is a result of subsidies from the German government = taxpayers’ money.
I read that and it’s full of uninformed prejudice and bullshit. The Orchestra is financed through european event planners and private sponsors. Norman Lebrecht is a clickbaiting asshole.
No problem, he is disabled too. Most people have at least traces of conscience, which he hasn’t, and many other peculiarities have been observed.
Any relationship Currentzis may have with Putin has nothing to do with his art. You either like it or you don’t. Europe may freeze this winter because Putin is retaliating against western sanctions, his right. And the idea that NATO and the west is totally innocent here is ludicrous. Stick to music and leave geopolitics out of it.
VTB Bank is still Musicaeterna General Partner, look at the Website under “Become a partner”. On his own website Currentzis announces as sponsor first the “Kultur & Kunst DM Privatstiftung” of Dietrich Mateschitz, the founder of Red Bull. The foundation funded also Addendum a research platform criticized for right wing populism as the TV channel “Servus TV” of the Red Bull-man is/was in talk-shows a platform for “querdenker” and also ultra-right identitarians as Martin Sellner. Currentzis still in funding of Putinistas, now sponsered by an ultra-right populism media and softdrink man
More importantly, on a “music” website: is he a good conductor? Who cares as to whether he is a Jew, a Vegan, a Russian, a Homosexual, an Adulterer, an admirer of Margaret Thatcher, or Pol Pot? There are conductors I admire, but not because of their nationality, race, religion or culinary preferences.
“Conscience”, that’s rich. You Nazi sympathisers.
Really sad that music is being mixed with politics. so heavily these days. The collective “west’ has surpassed the Soviet Union in its worst moments. Congrats.
Punch and Putin theatre
Maybe he could rename it the “Dystopia Orchestra”, which would be more in line with his personality.