Yannick to Replace Gergiev at Carnegie Hall After Public Outcry

From February 24 to 27, Russian Conductor Valery Gergiev was to lead The Vienna Philharmonic in three performances at Carnegie Hall. Tomorrow's concert was to also feature Russian pianist Denis Matsuev. However, a press release has just been issued announcing that Yannick Nézet-Séguin will instead lead the orchestra and Matsuev will be replaced with another soloist.

"Carnegie Hall and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra are immensely grateful to Yannick Nézet-Séguin for stepping in for these performances at very short notice," the press release reads.

The news comes after Russia's recent military invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent political repercussions surrounding Russian President Vladimir Putin's actions. As reported by NPR, activists who support Ukraine in this crisis were planning to protest the Carnegie Hall concerts because of Gergiev's close ties to Russia and Putin himself.

Gergiev conducting the Vienna Philharmonic in Frankfurt (Photo credit: Benedikt Dinkhauser)

Gergiev and Putin's relationship has been quite public throughout the years. In 2013, Putin gave Gergiev the Hero Of Labor of the Russian Federation Prize, reviving the Stalin-era prize in gratitude of Gergiev voicing his support in Putin's election campaign video. Additionally, Gergiev currently serves as General and Artistic Director of Russia's Mariinsky Theatre — and was given the title of People’s Artist of Russia in 1996, plus three State Prizes of Russia in 1993, 1998, and 2015.

In 2014, alongside Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, Gergiev voiced his support for Putin's actions in Donetsk, a city in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. At the time, pro-Russian separatists declared independence from Ukraine, resulting in fighting with Ukrainian government forces.

This week, according to CNN, the Donbas region is at the center of this current crisis, with Putin recognizing "two separatist territories in eastern Ukraine as independent states," which the Kremlin is calling the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics.

Additionally, pianist Denis Matsuev is also known to have strong ties with Russia and publicly endorsed Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. He will be replaced by another soloist yet to be announced.

The program for this weekend's concerts will remain the same. You can purchase tickets here.

Other venues are questioning whether or not to have Gergiev perform there. Milan's Teatro alla Scala was to continue to have him lead Tchaikovsky's opera "The Queen of Spades." However, Milan's Mayor Beppe Sala and La Scala's CEO Dominique Meyer are now asking that Gergiev take a firm stance against the Russian invasion. According to Milan's news outlet Corriere della Sera, if Gergiev doesn't promote peace, his collaboration with the company will be over.

Artists in the classical music industry are also starting to share their views regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict — with Soviet-born conductor Semyon Bychkov and conductor Oksana Lyniv issuing statements condemning the Russian attacks.