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Valery Gergiev, the Russian conductor facing a gay rights protest at his London concert on Thursday evening, has released a statement saying that he has never discriminated against anyone and he has never supported anti-gay legislation.
Gergiev, the principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, has been the target of protests in London and New York because of his perceived closeness to Vladimir Putin's regime.
Last Thursday, gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell interrupted the beginning of an LSO concert at London's Barbican when, in evening dress, he took to the stage and told the audience: "Gergiev defends the new homophobic law that persecutes gay Russians." .
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Gergiev, the artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg for more than 25 years, said: I am aware of the gay rights protest that took place at the Barbican last week prior to my concert with the LSO. I have said before that I do not discriminate against anyone, gay or otherwise, and never have done, and as head of the Mariinsky Theatre this is our policy.
"It is wrong to suggest that I have ever supported anti-gay legislation and in all my work I have upheld equal rights for all people. I am an artist and have for over three decades worked with tens of thousands of people in dozens of countries from all walks of life and many of them are indeed my friends.
"I collaborate with and support all my colleagues in the endeavour for music and art. This is my focus as a conductor, musician, artist and as artistic and general director of the Mariinsky Theatre and principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra."
The protests began in New York when he was barracked at the Carnegie Hall and the Met, because of his closeness to a regime which this summer introduced legislation aimed at outlawing gay "propaganda". Gergiev was given a Hero of Labour award by Putin in the spring and the conductor has appeared in a pro-Putin TV election advert.
Activists have also seized on quotes attributed to Gergiev published by the Dutch newspaper Volkskrant on 10 September. "In Russia we do everything we can to protect children from paedophiles. This law is not about homosexuality, it targets paedophilia. But I have too busy a schedule to explore this matter in detail."
Tatchell said the new statement was not enough to call off the protest which will take place outside the Barbican on Thursday before Gergiev conducts the LSO in Berlioz's The Damnation of Faust.
Tatchell said: "While his affirmation of personal non-discrimination is welcome, Gergiev's statement does not renounce his support for President Putin, whose regime does discriminate against gay people. It also arrests opposition leaders and peaceful protesters on trumped up charges.
"Gergiev has sided with Putin against Pussy Riot and defended the anti-gay law, reportedly falsely claiming that it is solely concerned with paedophilia. His statement looks like PR spin and a damage limitation exercise.
"Our protest against Gergiev is not just about homophobic persecution in Russia. It is also about his support for a president who has presided over the wider suppression of democracy and human rights."
The row opens up a wider debate about how to protest against the anti-gay laws in Russia. A spokesman for gay rights group Stonewall said they were in dialogue with colleagues in Russia who cautioned against boycotts of products or events.
The leading classical music writer Alex Ross, author of The Rest is Noise, last week wrote in the New Yorker magazine, under the headline Imperious, The problem with Valery Gergiev: "No one should be surprised that gay people, for whom concert halls and opera houses have long been safe havens, are turning away from Gergiev and other pro-Putin musicians."
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