Finally: The London Symphony Orchestra dumps Putin admirer Gergiev

Kudos to the venerable London Symphony Orchestra, which finally has decided to rid itself of criminal dictator Vladimir Putin´s friend, Valery Gergiev:

Sir Simon confirms he will take over as music director at London Symphony Orchestra in September 2017 after 12 years at Berlin Philharmonic

Simon Rattle is to join the London Symphony Orchestra, he has confirmed.

He will take over in September 2017, it was confirmed in an announcement on Tuesday morning.

Sir Simon has spent the past 12 years at the Berlin Philharmonic, widely considered the best orchestra in the world, and his contract was to run until 2018.

The management of the LSO said it was "a great day" for the orchestra.

Indeed, the dumping of Gergiev is the best thing that has happened to the LSO in many years!

Esa-Pekka Salonen again defends his friend Valery Gergiev

Finnish conductor and composer Esa-Pekka Salonen again defends Russian dictator Putin´s admirer Valery Gergiev:

“I’ve spent the morning defending my friend Valery before the Swedish media,” says Salonen.
Gergiev is a committed supporter of the Putin regime, and his appearance at the festival provoked some outrage in Stockholm at a time of strained diplomacy. Salonen describes his opinions as “diametrically opposite” to his colleague’s on the subject of Ukraine but, “as long as London is making money for the oligarchs, as long as the Austrians are lobbying for a gas pipe to make sure they get an uninterrupted supply, regardless of what’s happening to Ukraine,” he says, “why should I, as the artistic director of this festival, not say that Gergiev is allowed to come here?”

One wonders, why on the earth should Salonen "defend" somebody like Gergiev? I never imagined that Salonen would be that stupid.