From today’s Philadelphia Inquirer:
In a surprise move made without the knowledge or approval of its full musician membership, the Philadelphia Orchestra has appointed Charles Dutoit chief conductor and artistic adviser.
Dutoit, 70, a longtime and frequent guest conductor here who oversees the orchestra’s summer series in Saratoga, N.Y., will assume his new titles for the 2008-09 season after Christoph Eschenbach steps down. He has a contract through 2011-12, leading up to eight weeks of subscription concerts each season plus more in Saratoga and on tour.
Dutoit will not have the title of music director, and as interim leader will have many but not all of of the same responsibilities as music director for four years as the orchestra searches for an eighth music director. The decision to engage the Swiss-born conductor was announced to the musicians of the orchestra by president James Undercofler backstage after last night’s concert.
Not that he’s necessarily a bad choice, but the first sentence of the article (included in the excerpt above) is troubling: without the knowledge or approval of its full musician membership. I’m assuming, at the very least, and that key word is “full”, and that there was musician input from members of the search committee or orchestra committee on this decision. What it does show is that, with the New York Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony also looking for their next music directors, the competition is going to be stiff for the few qualified candidates out there (assuming that they’re even interested in a U.S. position), and it is going to take a few years. Chicago took a similar move with Boulez and Haintink having substantial recurring roles with the orchestra as they conduct their search, and in New York, Maazel is the obvious place-holder music director.