Conductor dropped by eight symphonies
SAN FRANCISCO >> The stellar career of world-renowned conductor Charles Dutoit has come crashing down in the wake of sexual assault accusations by three singers and a musician. Symphonies from Boston to Sydney have severed ties with the maestro, and he has canceled guest appearances with other major orchestras.
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, where the 81-year-old Dutoit is artistic director and principal conductor, issued a statement early Friday saying the symphony and Dutoit “have jointly agreed to release him from his forthcoming concert obligations with the orchestra for the immediate future.”
The Royal Philharmonic statement says the facts should be determined by a legal process and that Dutoit “needs to be given a fair opportunity to seek legal advice and contest these allegations.”
Later Friday, the Philadelphia Orchestra became the latest to sever ties with Dutoit, its chief conductor from 2008 to 2012, and said in a statement it has removed Dutoit’s title of conductor laureate following the allegations of sexual misconduct.
It brought to eight the number of major symphonies that have ended long relationships with Dutoit since Thursday when The Associated Press published a story with graphic sexual assault accusations by the four women.
The Sydney, Boston and San Francisco symphonies also announced they were cutting ties with Dutoit, citing the “serious nature of the allegations” detailed by the AP. Meanwhile, orchestras in New York, Chicago and Cleveland quickly released statements saying that Dutoit has withdrawn his services for upcoming concerts. He was scheduled to appear at the New York Philharmonic next month; the other performances were scattered through 2018.
Aside from the orchestra statements attributed to Dutoit about his voluntary withdrawals, the Swiss conductor has remained silent.
Prior to release of the AP story, Dutoit did not respond to multiple attempts for comment through the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and his office in Montreal. The Royal Philharmonic said Dutoit was on vacation, but that it had forwarded the AP’s emailed requests for comment directly to him. The AP also reached out to Dutoit’s office with several phone calls and emails.
The reaction has been swift in the classical music world, accompanied by assertions about Dutoit’s decadeslong reputation for inappropriate behavior. The developments also have left the orchestras scrambling to find substitute conductors.