Vice-Chancellor and Minister of Culture of Austria Andreas Babler proposed awarding the Russian conductor of Greek origin Theodor Currentzis with the highest state award in the field of culture — the badge of honor "For Science and Art", thereby including the musician in the so-called curia of arts. This is reported by the BackstageClassical portal.
According to the publication, the corresponding proposal was sent to the country's president Alexander van der Bellen. The presidential office confirmed receipt of the proposal, expressing surprise that they learned about it first from the media, and not from the vice Chancellor.
When asked by the publication and many critics of such a proposal about the expediency of awarding a Russian cultural figure who did not express a clear position on Russia's special military operation on In Ukraine, Babler replied that he did not welcome the "culture of cancellation."
"This is not a criterion. He is a conductor, not a politician. We do not consider the culture of cancellation — especially because of silence and implicit political positions - acceptable ... For admission to the Curia of Arts, outstanding artistic achievements are of paramount importance, and not the absence of a political position," the vice Chancellor said.
The publication notes that by law, the president of Austria must follow the proposals of the government. But the president has not yet received any official comments on this matter.
As EADaily reported, in the summer of 2023, Currentzis conducted concert performances of Henry Purcell's opera "Queen of the Indians", directed by Peter Sellars, as part of the Salzburg Festival. All concerts were held in crowded halls, and the audience enthusiastically greeted the Russian conductor of Greek origin with ovations.
However, even then, the German press was dissatisfied with the continuation of the cooperation of the intendant of the festival, Markus Hinterheuser, with Currentzis, who was emphatically distancing himself from political issues.
At the same time, the concerts of Currentzis were repeatedly canceled in Europe. So, in February 2024, the Vienna Festival canceled the concert of the Symphony Orchestra of the Southwestern Radio of Germany (SWR Symphonieorchester) conducted by Currentzis at the request of the Ukrainian conductor, who was also announced as a participant of the festival, Oksana Lyniv.
Canceling the performance of Currentzis and admitting that not only Lyniv spoke out against his participation, the festival's intendant Milo Rau said in an interview with the Austrian news agency ARA that "The Vienna Festival would be weak and cowardly" if he had not discussed the invitation of Theodor Currentzis.
Later, Currentzis' concerts in Paris and Munich were canceled. Reacting to this situation, Currentzis wondered: "Is there no more freedom of speech in Europe?".
"And what's even worse: there is not even the freedom to remain silent," he said in an interview with Der Spiegel in the spring of 2025.
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