Britain | Conductor Jan Latham-Koenig is accused of sexual crimes

British conductor Jan Latham-Koenigia is accused of sexually abusing a child, says the newspaper The Guardian. Latham-Koenig was arrested on Wednesday at London's Victoria Station.

The criminal charge was filed on Thursday and was discussed in a London court on Friday. Latham-Koenig was released on bail to await the actual hearing starting on February 9, according to the classical music news website Slipped Disc.

Jan Latham-Koenigia (b. 1953) is charged with the preparation of a sexual crime against a child and sexual communication with a minor.

In the year 2020 Latham-Koenig received the title of OBE, i.e. Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for his musical merits and for promoting cultural relations between Britain and Russia. He worked as chief conductor of the Novaya Opera in Moscow from 2011 to 2019 and has since been the main guest of the opera house. He has also worked in management positions in, for example, Porto, Palermo and Strasbourg.

He has visited Finland to lead performances of the Savonlinna Opera Festival in 1999 and 2013–2014. He has also conducted the performances of Tampere Philharmonic and Tampere Opera in the 2010s.