Culture minister sacks head of Philharmonic Orchestra

Culture Minister Václav Riedlbauch on Friday dismissed the head of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra Vladimir Darjanin over alleged poor management. The state of the Czech Philharmonic’s finances has been a matter of contention for some time, with Mr. Darjanin accusing his predecessor in office, the said culture minister, of being responsible for the present problems.

The ministry has also criticized the fact that Mr. Darjanin is involved in too many cultural activities which it said constituted a clash of interests.The outgoing head of the Philharmonic Orchestra organizes the annual summer music festival Dvorak’s Prague and is also on the board of a number of firms active in the field of culture.