François-Xavier Roth, who was dismissed early from his job with the city of Cologne due to sexual harassment of female musicians, will become chief conductor of the SWR Symphony Orchestra next year. As planned. The broadcaster announced this in a press release.
According to research by the French satirical and investigative magazine The Chained Duck repeatedly sent text messages of a sexual nature and penis pictures to several female musicians. On July 5, the city of Cologne declared the Frenchman’s engagement as General Music Director of the Gürzenich Orchestra terminated one year earlier than contractually agreed. This was done by “mutual agreement,” according to the city administration. According to Cologne City Advertiser Roth received a severance payment of 200,000 euros.
Soon after the publication of the Duck-Story, an internal commission was set up to investigate whether similar incidents had occurred during François-Xavier Roth’s tenure as chief conductor of the SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden and Freiburg between 2011 and 2016. The years 2020 and 2022, when Roth was engaged as a guest conductor at the SWR, were also investigated.
According to SWR, no complaints have been made against the conductor to date
The result, according to SWR, is that no complaints have been made against the conductor to date. The broadcaster has also not received any feedback from employees “who felt harassed or disadvantaged by François-Xavier Roth’s behavior.” The broadcaster and conductor have “agreed on rules that should prevent any misconduct on his part in the future and protect employees.”
Sexual assault, discrimination or abuse of power have no place at SWR, says SWR Culture Program Director Anke Mai. But after “confident discussions with the musicians in the orchestra as well as with François-Xavier Roth,” she is convinced that she has made a decision that is in line with SWR’s values. People deserve a second chance if they admit to wrongdoing and face consequences.
Roth himself is quoted as saying that he did not fulfill the expectations placed on him and apologized to everyone he had “hurt and disappointed.” He has been working on himself “with external help for some time” so that “such mistakes” are never repeated. Roth will take up his post at SWR in the 2025/26 season.