‘IMPOSSIBLE OPTION’

Russian Conductor of Bolshoi Resigns, Citing Pressure to Take Stance on Putin

The 44-year-old Tugan Sokhiev did not say whether he supported or condemned Russia’s invasion, but wrote that he was “against any conflicts in any shape and form.”

A star Russian conductor and musical director of Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater announced Sunday that he would resign “with immediate effect” from his posts with two internationally acclaimed orchestras after being pressed to take a position on the Ukraine invasion. In a lengthy statement, Tugan Sokhiev did not explicitly support or condemn Putin and the invasion, instead writing that he was “always… against any conflicts in any shape and form.” The 44-year-old conductor said he had faced intense scrutiny from authorities in France, where he has worked with the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse since 2008, to “express myself for peace.” He decided to resign from his roles there and at the Bolshoi after “being forced to face the impossible option of choosing between my beloved Russian and beloved French musicians.” Sokhiev’s mentor, conductor Valery Gergiev, identified by The New Yorker as Russia’s “most powerful classical musician,” was fired from his position at the Munich Philharmonic on Tuesday after refusing to denounce Putin.