LENOX — If you’re wondering what is the “real story” behind the sudden resignations of two top Boston Symphony Orchestra executives — one with overall responsibility for Tanglewood in a newly created post, here’s what I’ve gleaned about the dramatic shakeup.
To recap briefly ...
• The news broke Friday about the impending departure of President and CEO Gail Samuel, the BSO’s first woman leader. Amid great fanfare, Samuel began her tenure as BSO chief at Tanglewood 18 months ago, having held leadership posts at the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Hollywood Bowl. The BSO offered no comment, official or unofficial, about the reasons and circ*mstances, including whether her resignation was voluntary. The board of trustees plans to begin its search for a new president and CEO at its January meeting.
“As an institutional norm, the BSO doesn’t comment on individual personnel matters internally nor publicly,” according to a statement from the BSO on Wednesday afternoon. “This anchors our commitment to ensuring the privacy of our employees and is consistent with our organization’s culture and practices.”
• In retrospect, the unannounced departure of Asadour Santourian — Samuel’s ally and friend — was significant. Samuel hired Santourian away from the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado to be Tanglewood’s first vice president of the Tanglewood Music Center & Learning. The role was a newly created title with enhanced responsibilities, as the BSO’s official announcement stated last January.
• Santourian was on site and oversaw Tanglewood this past summer, but the BSO has not announced his departure to the public. Having heard from an insider that he may have been dismissed, I learned that his last day is Friday and that “the BSO thanks Asadour for his contributions and wishes him well in his future endeavors,” according to an internal communication viewed by The Eagle.
The internal communication also mentioned that much of the planning for next summer’s festival, including the music center for advanced young musicians and the Tanglewood Learning Institute for adult aficionados, has been completed. A full season announcement is set for Feb. 1. The BSO plans an immediate search for the next vice president.
On Tuesday, information emerged that appeared to shed light on this mystery. I’m told that an investigation is underway concerning disparaging remarks that Santourian allegedly made to a young Tanglewood Music Center vocalist last summer.
Now, the long-running Slipped Disc blog by classical music writer Norman Lebrecht shares some speculation along similar lines.
Who is Norman Lebrecht? Lebrecht, 74, is a British music journalist and author who specializes in classical music. In 2007, he was described by the late Gilbert Kaplan, a financial publisher and semiprofessional conductor, as “surely the most controversial and arguably the most influential journalist covering classical music.” Lebrecht’s Wikipedia entry states that his writings “have been praised as entertaining and revealing, while others have accused them of sensationalism and criticized their inaccuracies.”
Lebrecht now reports that “a number of insiders” have confirmed that the BSO’s human resources department was investigating Santourian “for bullying staff members and pressuring them to resign. Our sources say Santourian resigned before facing a negative HR ruling.”
The Slipped Disc blog correctly acknowledges numerous staff departures in the past year, including some key executives and administrators. Lebrecht wrote that “staff describe the atmosphere as ‘toxic.’” Again, that’s in line with what I heard around the Tanglewood campus last summer and from others in the know since then.
Still to be resolved: Why Samuel, who appointed Santourian a year ago and welcomed him to “the executive team” with effusive praise in an official announcement last Jan. 10, also is about to leave. A show of support for her close confidant and colleague? A recognition that her chosen top ally’s apparently forced resignation casts a major shadow on her own leadership of the BSO and Tanglewood?
One bright note in the spirit of the season: Tanglewood and the BSO’s artistic management remain in the extremely capable hands of Vice President of Artistic Planning Tony Fogg, a 26-year veteran of the orchestra who is held in high esteem within the profession.
With all this starting to be cleared up to the extent possible, further developments are awaited. I imagine a crisis management team is involved as well as possible “non-disclosure agreements.” That would explain why several inside sources have been unwilling or unable so far to provide any official, on-the-record guidance.
The well-being of Tanglewood and the BSO are of paramount importance to many of us. That includes those who rarely if ever attend classical concerts but who recognize the significance of the orchestra’s summer home as the locomotive pulling our essential cultural and hospitality economy in the Berkshires.
