The Daily Telegraph - Saturday
Acclaimed BBC conductor charged over child sex offence
Crime editor
THE internationally renowned conductor Jan Latham-Koenig has appeared in court charged with child sex offences.
The 70-year-old, who was awarded an OBE in 2020, was arrested at Victoria Station in London earlier this week on suspicion of arranging to meet a child for sexual purposes.
Mr Latham-Koenig, one of the country’s most celebrated conductors, appeared at Westminster magistrates’ court yesterday to answer four charges, including arranging or facilitating a child sexual offence and sexual communication with a child.
Wearing a brown jacket and blue shirt, he spoke only to confirm his name, address and date of birth when he appeared in the glass-walled dock.
Deputy District Judge Maria Karaiskos KC agreed to adjourn the case for two weeks and said she would ask the Crown to review the charges before asking the defendant to enter a plea.
Mr Latham-Koenig, who lives in a £10 million home in Kensington, south London, was granted conditional bail and told he would next have to appear before the same court on Feb 9.
Addressing Mr Latham-Koenig directly, she said: “You must live and sleep at your address in South Kensington,
and you must also surrender your passport and not apply for any additional travel documentation.
“You must return to this court for your plea hearing on 9 February.”
Mr Latham-Koenig, was born in London and studied at the Royal College of Music, beginning his career as a conductor with the BBC in 1981. He was appointed the permanent guest conductor of the Vienna State Opera in 1991, delivering around 100 performances.
Throughout a glittering career he has conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and all the BBC ensembles.
He further built his career around the world, including at National Opera Prague and at the Paris Opera.
He then went on to become chief conductor of Novaya Opera in Moscow in 2011.
In Queen Elizabeth’s 2020 Birthday Honours list, Mr Latham-Koenig was made an OBE for “services to music and UK/Russia cultural relations”.
In 2023, he was named artistic director of the Festival Puccini in Torre del Lago, Italy.
And as recently as June last year, he was performing in Russia, conducting a performance of Mahler’s second symphony in Moscow.