Russian conductor Tugan Sokhiev, who recently resigned from two high-profile positions after being pressured to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, will no longer conduct a series of concerts with the New York Philharmonic due to the war, the orchestra announced Friday.
Sokhiev, who until this month was music director of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and the Orchester National du Capitole in Toulouse, France, was due to perform with the Philharmonic from March 31 for three concerts featuring the music of Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev. Instead, the concerts will be led by Anna Rakitina, a rising conductor born in Moscow to a Russian mother and Ukrainian father, in her Philharmonic debut.
The Philharmonic described the change as a mutual decision, saying in a statement it was made “out of respect for the current global situation.” The orchestra said Sokhiev would perform next season.
In a statement, Sokhiev’s manager Sylvie Bouchard said: “The decision with the New York Philharmonic has been made mutually and Tugan Sokhiev looks forward to his future engagements with the orchestra.”
The cancellation of Sokhiev’s New York performance comes as the Russian invasion continues to rattle the performing arts. In recent weeks, some cultural institutions have put pressure on artists to denounce President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and his attack on Ukraine.
Earlier this month, Sokhiev had faced demands from French officials that he clarify his stance on the war before performing again with his orchestra in Toulouse. In response to the demands, he resigned while announcing that he was also stepping down from the Bolshoi Theater, feeling he was forced to choose between the two ensembles.
“I am being asked to choose one cultural tradition over another,” Sokhiev said at the time. “I’m being asked to pick one artist over another.”
Deborah Borda, the Philharmonic’s president and chief executive, said in an interview that the orchestra had a “wonderful relationship” with Sokhiev, who led a week of performances in New York in 2018.
“We pray for peace,” she said. “We pray for peace for him.”
Borda added that the Philharmonic is committed to showcasing Russian musicians and works by Russian composers. But she said the orchestra would not host artists if they had direct ties to Putin or his government.
“These are very nuanced decisions,” she says. “You can’t make general decisions about this. It’s not black or white.”
Rakitina is an assistant conductor with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and a former Dudamel Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She will make her debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra next week.
The program that Sokhiev would lead, in which the Chinese pianist Haochen Zhang plays alongside Lili Boulanger’s ‘D’un Matin de Printemps’ and Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto, will remain unchanged.