City of Cologne and General Music Director Roth end cooperation

François-Xavier Roth, General Music Director of the Cologne Opera and Kapellmeister of the Gürzenich Orchestra, who has come under criticism due to allegations of harassment against musicians, is ending his engagement in the cathedral city prematurely.

The city of Cologne and Roth have ended their cooperation by mutual agreement one year earlier than planned, the city administration announced on Friday. No reasons were given. According to information from the “Kölner Stadtanzeiger”, the termination of the contract is linked to a payment of around 200,000 euros.

The allegations against the 52-year-old general music director were made in the spring. According to a report in the French newspaper “Le canard enchainé”, Roth is said to have sent sexually offensive chat messages and photos: kiss and heart emojis sent late in the evening, as well as penis photos. There was talk of alleged misconduct towards seven women and men in a professional context, some of the incidents dating back to 2010.

The Gürzenich Orchestra, which Roth has led since 2015, initiated an investigation into the allegations. Roth temporarily suspended his position as chief conductor and apologized to everyone “whom I may have offended.” The internationally renowned French conductor, who was conducting the Berlin Philharmonic in May, thanked the city of Cologne on Friday. Over the past nine years, he said, he has been able to implement extraordinary projects with the orchestra and the opera house.

The upcoming dates are now to be taken over by guest conductors. The position of General Music Director will not be filled for the 2024/25 season; in the following season, Andrés Orozco Estrada, a Viennese conductor with Colombian roots, will take over as planned.

From 2025, Roth is actually supposed to become chief conductor and artistic director of the SWR Symphony Orchestra. There, too, there were “unofficial indications” of misconduct, which the SWR wanted to investigate. Roth had canceled planned current conducting engagements there for the time being, and it has not yet been decided whether he will actually take over the leadership next year.