The Munich Philharmonic and Rotterdam Philharmonic are terminating their relationship with Valery Gergiev.

In a statement, Mayor Dieter Reiter of Munich said, “Munich is parting from principal conductor Valery Gergiev. With immediate effect, he will no longer be conducting concerts of the Munich Philharmonic. Valery Gergiev has not spoken out despite my call to ‘clearly and unequivocally distance himself from the brutal war of aggression that Putin is waging against Ukraine and now in particular against our twin city of Kyiv.’

He added, “I would have expected him to reconsider and revise his positive opinion of Russia’s ruler. He has not done so. In the current situation, however, a clear signal to the orchestra, its audience, the public, and the city council would have been indispensable to allow us to continue working together. Since this was not forthcoming, we have no choice but to let him go. We will sort out everything else as soon as possible.”

In the meantime, the Rotterdam Philharmonic noted, “Following last week’s invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Valery Gergiev was invited to respond and to publicly distance himself from the acts of President Putin in Ukraine. In anticipation of any response, we had suspended our relationship with the conductor as indicated in a press release dated last Friday.”

“Yesterday evening we were able to contact Mr. Gergiev. However, at the end of this conversation, insurmountable differences remained. The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Festivals, therefore, consider they have no choice but to terminate their relationship with the conductor. Concerts with Mr. Gergiev will be canceled, likewise the NTR Saturday Matinee. The Gergiev Festival will also be disbanded.”

The news comes after both organizations gave the conductor an ultimatum and various organizations like the Teatro alla Scala, Carnegie Hall, and his management Felsner Artists dropped him.