In Monday’s (8/12) INews (U.K.), Jessica Duchen writes, “The heated arguments over John Eliot Gardiner’s departure from the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra (MCO) show no sign of simmering down. Last year, the octogenarian conductor … punched a singer in an altercation following a concert in southern France. He apologized, recused himself from performances, and sought therapy. Now, a year on, he and the organization—which he founded—have definitively parted company…. Classical music is unusually prone to a ‘great man syndrome’ that excuses almost any interpersonal transgression for the sake of maintaining world-class work. Any artistic endeavor, indeed any profession that depends on a seemingly mystical level of understanding, could go the same way … In the classical music world, the issue has rarely disappeared … If you normalize bullying, how do you then draw the line, turn round and call it out? Hitting people is wrong. It’s still wrong whether it’s in a street brawl, the Stock Exchange, or a classical concert…. Of all musical fields, early music probably has the greatest number of passionate, motivated, well-informed, mission-driven musicians who believe in what they’re doing and function perfectly well together without being bullied into submission—let alone accepting the potential for physical violence.”
