Dick-pic conductor gets golden handshake
OrchestrasIt has emerged that the resignation of Francois-Xavier Roth as Generalmusikdirektor of the city of Cologne was secured on two conditions.
The first was a payoff for his silence – 200,000 Euros, apparently.
The other was an agreement by the city to cancel any investigation into complaints that Roth sent indecent images of himself to musicians.
This, says the local newspaper, is a slap in the face of all victims of sexual harrassment.
The only question remains if any of readers here saw the actual pics. Because otherwise why do you blame him?
Maybe because I trust that people who are firing him did indeed see some or all of them.
And if they weren’t up to standard, they had grounds for firing him .
So if I’m some CEO of SomeOrchestra and would like to blackmail a person – you’ll just silently follow me?
I would rather not see them.
It’s ridiculous: the crazy man is being rewarded.
So he won’t need to resort to flogging off his virtual showers for a living.
It’s a legal matter no? It is not up to the city to cancel a complaint or not. If someone does a complaint to the judiciary system, how the city could cancel it?
I believe the complaint would have been an internal matter, which is why it was being investigated by the orchestra. If criminal activity had been uncovered it would have been handed over to the police.
The payment would have been compensation for loss of office i.e. early termination of his contract. Both sides have presumably agreed confidentiality agreements. That’s a completely normal course of action in such cases.
Without knowing the facts, such as was this flirting that went too far, or a revenge accusation, it is impossible for anyone other than those involved to know what happened or where blame lies.
He was Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) of the city of Cologne, which means he was an employee of the city, and the city council has agreed not to investigate the complaints further. The complainants could of course take the matter to the police, if they wished.
Indeed. If there was any criminal activity.
Going forward, perhaps Roth will consider which stick is best to focus on more.
It wouldn’t shake out like that in the states.
I wouldn’t want to shake that hand because we know where it’s been.
What proof do we have that the pics were not eminently aesthetic ?
Still not convinced that the perquisite to become a conductor is innate sociopathy?