The refined British artistic scene was shaken by an earthquake caused by a man born in London to a modest family of French, Danish, and Polish origins. He became a musical star whose fame crossed borders, conducting the British orchestra Jan Latham-Koenig, aged 70, who was arrested by the police last Wednesday on serious charges that have made headlines in most media worldwide.
Summary of the charges: "Arranging or facilitating an act, involving sexual activity with a child, between December 9 of last year and January 10 of this year. Also, communication between December 11 and last Wednesday with a minor under the age of 16, with the intention of engaging in sexual activity with them." This is what Koenig heard in court on Thursday, where he was released the next day on bail, conditional on appearing again on February 9, after providing more details regarding the charges that led to his arrest at Victoria railway station in central London.
All available information about Koenig, who remains single, indicates that Westminster Magistrates' Court held a 5-minute session on Friday, during which the prosecution stated that he had previously sent texts with sexual content via WhatsApp to a third party between January 3 and 9, as well as conducted a suggestive phone call. Meanwhile, the musician sat feeling the weight of the scandal upon him, as he covered his face with his hands throughout the session. The judge informed him that he must sleep every night in his house, which was estimated by The Telegraph to be worth £10 million, equivalent to $12.7 million.
No British media outlet followed up on his story on Sunday, which was published briefly and devoid of "details" of the charges due to the lack of available information, and due to the legal restrictions on reporting anything related to minors involved in the story. Thus, local media only published information regarding Koenig's fame and his artistic activities both in the UK and abroad. However, bad news about him surfaced in Argentina yesterday.
From Koenig's biography, he studied at the Royal College of Music and founded a group bearing his family name in 1976. He began working in 1981 as a conductor for BBC music concerts and won the famous Gulbenkian Fellowship, followed by his debut in 1988 with the opera Macbeth at the Vienna State Opera, becoming a regular conductor there in 1991. He was then appointed the artistic director of Novaya Opera Theatre in Moscow in 2011, becoming the first British-born conductor to hold such a position in a Russian opera house.
