British baton quits German job

British baton quits German job

News

norman lebrecht

February 22, 2023

The town of Erfurt in Thuringia has been left without a music director after the British conductor Alexander Prior resigned ‘for personal reasons’.

Prior, 30, said the terms of his American residence permit would be jeopardised if he held what looked like a fulltime job in Germany.

(Why did no-one think of that beforehand?)

Theater Erfurt says it will not replace him in the short term. He will stay on as principal conductor. He tweets: ‘ I have in fact changed my title to Chief Conductor (of the opera and orchestra), due to immigration-related reasons.’ Well, that’s bound to make all the difference to the officials at passport control.

Prior is on his second career after an early start as a composer in Russia.

Comments

  • RW2013 says:

    Didn’t he just start there with great heralding?

    • AP says:

      And have at least 4 and a half more years here, with no plans on leaving this wonderful orchestra and house ☺️
      Adams City Noir this week

  • sonicsinfonia says:

    One might expect any decent agent would have checked and advised him on citizenship status before contracting the position. He doesn’t seem to be listed by any.

  • Ulrich says:

    If you read closely, you will learn that he will change from Generalmusikdirektor to Chefdirigent. At this point, nobody says that he will leave Erfurt.

  • Alex Prior says:

    Hi there!
    This is entirely inaccurate. I have not quit, nor left the company in any way, but rather changed my title from Music Director to Chief Conductor, which has meant reducing my schedule by only one concert a season, and look forwards to leading this wonderful orchestra and company for years to come, not least our Ring Cycle that starts next season.
    I would appreciate an edit to reflect the actual situation.
    It’s a wonderful orchestra, with a rich dark sound, lots of ambition, and a terrific collegial attitude, and I feel very loved and supported by our wonderful team in the orchestra and admin.
    Thank you so much!
    Alex Prior

    • MMcGrath says:

      So glad you wrote in to clarify things. Congratulations on your success in Erfurt and the accolades you’ve earned there. I will make a point to check out your upcoming Ring cycle.
      As for immigration. It is a mystery to many of us, and the rules change regularly, causing surprises. And employing an immigration lawyer isn’t cheap – or always reliable, either. It’s all made more awkward by UK Brexit – which was as a primitive move and brought changes for many of us. And US rules change frequently and subtly, too, as politicians and their ignorance and biases pass new laws and related regs.

  • Alex Prior says:

    One more note – far from leaving I have actually been so fortunate as to be asked to stay at least one season beyond my original 4 year agreement only 5 months into the job, which I am very touched and honored by, and have happily agreed to do so.

  • AP says:

    Yes, it makes the difference to the official type of status in the country. I was surprised too, but so it is. At least that is how the rules are interpreted here. Were I an EU citizen it wouldn’t be so, but I’m not. My job is to do the very best I can for the house and orchestra, not to interpret or to be honest even think about those rules that have nothing to do with art. And that is my focus. Absolutely no quitting was involved.

  • Fiddl3r says:

    Granted each person has their likes and dislikes, as well as their biases – it is rather apparent that you for whatever reason, have a strong dislike of this conductor/composer. It appears that any opportunity you have to make things as negative and destructive as you can, you do. Why??

    Out of curiosity, I have done a little digging and discovered that your dislike for him literally goes back years! Since Maestro Prior is only 30, this leads me to one conclusion as to the reason behind all of the years of venom and vitriol, and it’s shameful.

    You can have and express an opinion on a person and their situation without twisting facts. But when you do, you are creating drama and scandal to fit a narrative where none exists. This is what ‘click bait’ and ‘tabloid journalism’ are by definition. Mr. Lebrecht, that is exactly what this post is – a post full of distorted inaccuracies in an to attempt to support your campaign against Alex Prior. Then, giving the post an incendiary headline and labeling it ‘news’ as you did, was a poor attempt to further the spread of inaccuracies and innuendos.

    You should do the right thing, acknowledge what you’ve done and post a correction along with an apology asap.

    • Anonymous says:

      It’s a mystery with Alex’s birth certificate. I think John Borstlap may have more information. In other news, Jaap van Zweden may have all the world’s music.

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