(Photo credit: Belgrade Philharmonic, bgf.rs)

Belgrade Philharmonic issued an official statement regarding the cancellation of conductor Jun Märkl, who has dropped out of his appearances with the organization on January 16 and January 17.

Per the statement made by the Belgrade Philharmonic, it “could not execute the agreement because the artist refused to respect certain terms of the contract, which he had already signed.”

Belgrade Philharmonic is a budget institution funded by the Republic of Serbia and therefore has several strict administrative rules that were presented to Mr. Märkl’s management and also stipulated in the contract, per the statement. Belgrade Philharmonic thus notes that the minimum of professional standards of each institution should be to respect the law.

As Belgrade Philharmonic further states, “Although Mr. Märkl’s representatives had been properly informed of our professional practice, they continuously refused to respect it. Regardless of that, we went out of our way to try to find a solution to meet his needs. However, there is no compromise with anyone who attempts to operate within the grey area of business.”

The organization was very surprised to learn that Mr. Märkl decided to cancel his concerts 60 hours prior to his first rehearsal. “We find this act extremely unprofessional and feel that no artists should allow themselves to act on a whim. Also, this is highly disrespectful toward the orchestra and its management, not to mention the audience, and the community as a whole,” it is further said in the statement.

Finally, the Belgrade Philharmonic expressed its shock over Mr. Märkl’s invoking the boycott of the Belgrade Philharmonic, and regards it as nothing short of bad manners.

The Belgrade Philharmonic also confirmed that it would take legal action against Jun Märkl.