Brucknerhaus affair

LIVA terminates contract with agency by mutual agreement

The Brucknerhaus is the concert hall of the people of Linz(Bild: Dieter Kühl)

At the beginning of April, the LIVA Supervisory Board decided to terminate a controversial contract with a German artist agency. This had been concluded during the Kerschbaum era. It is now clear that the contract will be terminated by mutual agreement on June 30.

At the meeting on April 4, 2024, the Supervisory Board unanimously decided to terminate the contract with the artist agency Opus 3 Artists early after careful consideration and on the recommendation of the new Commercial Director René Esterbauer, as we reported.

The review showed that this will not lead to any economic disadvantage for LIVA and will also have no negative impact on the program yet to be created. The agendas will be taken over by the artistic operations office and the in-house dramaturges.

The new commercial director René Esterbauer(Bild: Horst Einöder/Flashpictures)

Solution by mutual agreement
René Esterbauer immediately entered into talks with Daniel-Frédéric Lebon, artist agent of Opus 3 Artists, and they quickly reached an amicable agreement to end the collaboration on June 30, 2024.

Dramaturgy back in house
Until then, all contractually agreed services for the Brucknerhaus Linz will be provided in full and in close coordination with the internal dramaturgy department. At the end of June, there will be a smooth handover of Daniel-Frédéric Lebon's (Opus 3) responsibilities to the in-house dramaturgy department at the Brucknerhaus Linz.

"We would like to thank Mr. Lebon for his excellent cooperation over the past few months and wish him all the best for the future," says René Esterbauer, Commercial Director of LIVA, summarizing the amicable termination.

"I would also like to thank the team at the Brucknerhaus Linz for their excellent cooperation. And I hope that I have been able to use my expertise to help ensure that the 2024/25 season is a sign of invitation to the Upper Austrian public and that as many music-loving guests as possible will visit the Brucknerhaus Linz and its concerts," concludes Daniel-Frédéric Lebon.

Dramaturgy to be strengthened in terms of personnel
In addition, the advertisement for an additional dramaturge has already been launched so that this task can once again be carried out entirely in-house.