Amsterdam fires conductor after assault reports

Daniele Gatti, the director of Amsterdam's renowned Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, was fired on Thursday following multiple reports of sexual assault. Gatti, 56, has apologized to his victims.

"The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra has terminated the cooperation with chief conductor Daniele Gatti with immediate effect," the organization announced in a statement, after "a number of female colleagues of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra reported experiences with Gatti, which are inappropriate considering his position as chief conductor."

The allegations against Gatti, which go as far back as 1996, were first published in a Washington Post article from July 26. In the article, female musicians describe "a profession rife with harassment," and several other prominent figures in the classical music world are named alongside Gatti.

In a public apology, the Italian native said: "To all the women I have met in my entire life, especially those who believe I did not treat them with the utmost respect and dignity they certainly deserve, I sincerely apologize from the bottom of my heart."

Since the early '90s, Gatti has conducted or directed many of the most prestigious and oldest orchestras in Europe, including London's Royal Philharmonic and the National Orchestra of France.

es/kms (AFP, dpa)

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