Dutoit out at 7 symphonies amid sexual assault accusations
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 cancelled 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.”
Meanwhile, orchestras in New York, Chicago and Cleveland announced that Dutoit has withdrawn his services for upcoming concerts. In addition to Sydney and Boston, the San Francisco Symphony cut ties with Dutoit, citing the “serious nature of the allegations” detailed by The Associated Press. He had been set 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 famous 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 to the graphic sexual assault accusations made by the four women has been swift in the classical music world, accompanied by assertions about Dutoit’s decades-long reputation for inappropriate behavior. The developments also have left the orchestras scrambling to find substitute conductors.
Joe Kluger, former president of The Philadelphia Orchestra from 1989 to 2005, told The AP that Dutoit’s reputation as “extremely flirtatious” was one factor that caused the organization to pass him over twice for the job of music director during those years.
He said rumors of Dutoit’s “inappropriate behavior with women were common knowledge in the classical music business.” He added: “I do recall telling our staff to be wary around him and encouraged them to report any inappropriate behavior immediately.”
Kluger said he was unaware of any formal complaints filed about Dutoit by musicians or staff members. He said he had never heard that Dutoit had assaulted women.
The AP story published Thursday included detailed accounts by the four women, who said Dutoit attacked them on the sidelines of rehearsals and performances with orchestras in five cities — Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Saratoga Springs, New York. All four told the AP they never filed formal complaints because they were young and Dutoit was the maestro; they figured they would lose their jobs, not him.
They said the incidents occurred between 1985 and 2010 in a variety of places, including a moving car, Dutoit’s dressing room, a hotel elevator and his suite at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago.
The women, two who were named, said the Swiss-born conductor physically restrained them, forced his body against theirs, sometimes put his tongue in their mouths and, in one case, stuck her hand down his pants.
One of the women who spoke to the AP said Dutoit attacked her on four occasions during performances with The Philadelphia Orchestra in 2006 and 2010.