The artistic director of Konzerthaus Dortmund said this on
Thursday.
“We have always said: Those who have expressed views in
favour of the war or in favour of the Kremlin will not be allowed to perform at
our venue,’’ Raphael von Hoensbroech said.
The suspensions had been agreed with Teodor Currentzis, the
ensemble’s founder and director, and there was complete agreement on the
decision, he said.
However, Von Hoensbroech emphasised that artists should not
be excluded merely for the fact of being Russian.
The classical music magazine Crescendo had earlier reported
the decision.
Four ensemble members made anti-Western comments via social
media, among them a tenor who published a song offering support to Russian
soldiers at the front that has the phrase “fascism coming down on us again.’’
Another member posted a video showing him turning the
heating up in his accommodation with the aim of harming the German economy amid
a gas shortage caused by Russia’s decision to suspend supplies.
Von Hoensbroech said there had been agreement on the need to
act severely. “The tragic thing about it is actually that Russian propaganda
clearly works,’’ he said. (dpa/NAN)