General Music Director with a Side Job?

Ainārs Rubiķis, the new General Music Director at the Staatstheater Kassel, has created controversy with his orchestra. At the same time, he’s also accepted the role of Chief Conductor in the Tiroler Symphonieorchester Innsbruck. The Kassel orchestra board was unaware of this development, although Hesse's Minister of Culture, Timon Gremmels, knew.

For decades, the unwritten rule at the Staatstheater Kassel was that the General Music Director would not hold another chief position outside of Kassel. Guest conductorships at other theatres were allowed, but leading another orchestra was frowned upon. Considering that Kassel's orchestra is one of the oldest, with origins dating back to 1502, this exclusivity seemed well justified. However, this tradition is now being challenged.

When Minister Timon Gremmels signed the contract with Ainārs Rubiķis, he was already aware that Rubiķis had applied for another position and accepted it without hesitation. The orchestra board and the musicians were left in the dark.

It’s now quite common for conductors to lead multiple orchestras, sometimes even intercontinental ones, like Andris Nelsons in Boston and Leipzig or Gianandrea Noseda in Zurich and Washington. However, in this case, clarity is lacking, and it becomes almost laughable: according to Gremmels' ministry, Rubiķis’ work at the Tyrolean State Theatre is classified as a "marginal part-time job," or a mini-job. However, in the Tiroler Symphonieorchester Innsbruck,  Rubiķis will be taking on "management tasks."

The Tiroler Symphonieorchester Innsbruck has two conductors—one for the opera, currently Gerrit Prießnitz from Bonn, and Rubiķis for concerts—as the successor to Kerem Hasan, who had applied for the GMD position in Kassel but was rejected by Gremmels due to a "lack of experience." As part of the management team in the Tiroler Symphonieorchester Innsbruck, Rubiķis will be responsible for planning and organizational tasks, such as attending auditions, in addition to leading three symphony concerts and a variable number of special concerts.

In any case, Kassel's artistic director, Florian Lutz, sees no conflict of interest. He explained in a letter to the orchestra that Rubiķis’ work in Kassel is only a fraction of "what a GMD is usually entitled to in terms of guest conductor leave." Whether or not this is standard practice in the industry, the lack of sensitivity, transparency, and communication has already caused significant damage.