Vladimir Spivakov, music director and chief conductor of Moscow's Russian National Orchestra, announced on 17 September that he would resign from his position, effective immediately. He made the announcement immediately following the orchestra's season-opening concert.
Spivakov's resignation, a year before the expiration of his contract, was carried out in a highly public fashion: he informed the media of his decision before telling the orchestra. In his statement, he cited disagreements with the orchestra's management as the reason for his resignation.
Had Spivakov left the orchestra at the end of this season, it would have surprised few in Russian artistic circles. The management and musicians of the orchestra, which was founded in 1990 by pianist and conductor Mikhail Pletnev, have always regarded Spivakov's directorship as a temporary measure forced by Pletnev's resignation in 1999. Two weeks before the beginning of the season, the orchestra's executive director, Sergei Markov, informed Spivakov that the orchestra would not renew his contract.
Still, the abruptness and style of Spivakov's announcement took the orchestra by surprise. "We regret he chose this way [to leave the orchestra]," Markov told the Moscow newspaper Izvestia. "It would have been more ethical to let us know first. If his announcement was intended to destabilize our orchestra, I assure you it won't happen. The orchestra has strong alliances with many outstanding conductors."
Indeed, starting next season, the orchestra will be conducted, in tandem, by
Pletnev, who is now conductor laureate, and Kent Nagano, the music director of
the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and the principal conductor of Los
Angeles Opera. It is not clear, however, who will conduct the orchestra this
season. In a telephone conversation with Markov, Spivakov indicated that he
would still like to conduct his scheduled concerts with the orchestra. "We are
trying to extend an olive branch to him," Markov told Izvestia, pointing
out that the orchestra was not going to penalize Spivakov for breaching his
contract. "Our orchestra has been quite different from state-sponsored
orchestras in that any changes so far have occurred without scandalous
disturbances."
