The festival has decided not to withdraw its invitation to the British conductor following an incident involving a staff member at this year’s Bachfest, according to VAN Magazin.
Bachfest Leipzig will retain Sir John Eliot Gardiner as conductor of its 2027 closing concert, despite calls for his invitation to be withdrawn following an incident involving a festival employee in June, according to a report by Van Magazin.
VAN reports that the decision was taken on 27 August by the board of the Bach-Archiv Leipzig and Bachfest artistic director Michael Maul, with the foundation’s board of trustees. The magazine says it obtained internal statements from the Bachfest and from Leipzig mayor Burkhard Jung, who chairs the Bach-Archiv’s board of trustees.
Gardiner, 83, is scheduled to conduct Bach’s Mass in B minor at Leipzig’s Thomaskirche on 20 June 2027, with The Constellation Choir & Orchestra. The engagement remains listed in the festival’s official programme.
The decision follows an incident at this year’s Bachfest, when Gardiner behaved towards a female festival employee in a manner that the Bach-Archiv subsequently described as inappropriate and crossing boundaries. The incident occurred during the applause following a concert at the Thomaskirche on 16 June.
The employee later filed a criminal complaint alleging sexual harassment. The case is being examined by the Leipzig public prosecutor’s office. Gardiner has categorically rejected the allegation of sexual harassment and said he had been surprised by the situation and misunderstood it. He apologised to the employee shortly after the concert.
According to the internal statement obtained by VAN, the Bach-Archiv sought independent expertise in assessing the incident, including criminal-law, employment-law and psychological evaluations.
The festival said a criminal-law assessment of the available video material found no apparent criminal liability, while an employment-law review found no culpable conduct by the Bachfest towards the employee. A psychological assessment, however, concluded that the employee could have experienced the incident as a violation of personal boundaries and that her experience should be taken seriously.
The Bach-Archiv stressed that the criminal investigation has not yet been concluded.
Following what it described as a comprehensive assessment of the circumstances, the organisation concluded that the incident did not, at this stage, justify cancelling a concert that had been planned for several years.
However, the Bachfest will not arrange any new artistic projects with Gardiner beyond 2027 for the time being. It also said that it would reconsider its decision regarding the closing concert should developments in the judicial investigation lead to a different assessment of the case.
The festival is also introducing new measures following the incident, including a binding code of conduct for artists, employees and other participants, as well as a festival-wide safeguarding and awareness framework with defined contacts and reporting procedures.
Jung backed the decision, according to the statement published by VAN, saying he considered it appropriate to give Gardiner the opportunity to conduct the already scheduled concert. He added, however, that this depended on the criminal proceedings not resulting in a conviction and on Gardiner continuing to stand by his apology for his behaviour towards the employee.
The controversy comes three years after Gardiner faced widespread criticism following an incident at the Festival Berlioz in La Côte-Saint-André, France, in August 2023, when he struck bass William Thomas backstage after a performance of Les Troyens. Gardiner subsequently withdrew from engagements for several months and later said he had undergone cognitive behavioural therapy.
The 2027 Bachfest Leipzig will run from 10 to 20 June under the theme “Passion”. Gardiner’s performance of the Mass in B minor is scheduled to close the festival at the Thomaskirche.
Subscribe to our newsletter