Symphony Hall, March 26. Renée Fleming, Andris Nelsons and Thomas Hampson acknowledge applause after singing excerpts from John Adams’s Nixon in China. Tanglewood Festival Chorus in background. Hilary Scott photograph
I miss so many things about writing for a daily, writing a weekly column, and pitching features. All that energy did me good. Even now, as the assignments slow down, I still get interesting projects.
One thing I don’t miss though—writing about the nasty business of arts management.
It always pained me to write about labor disputes, or unseamly bullshit, or illegalities. I worked through the Levine years in Boston, after all. I was never good at it, and it felt distasteful. Now, I’m glad to ignore such things as best I can.
So it is with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. I have enjoyed the jolt of artistic energy that has followed CEO Chad Smith from Los Angeles to Boston, but this is another kind of jolt. The decision to replace Andris Nelsons must have come from board and management, or they would have done everything they could to avoid wounding so many parties simultaneously.
Get used to this: audience shouting, musicians and conductor standing together in harmony, management not listening. Andris Nelsons takes in the applause from his first performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra after his announced dismissal, March 19 in Symphony Hall. Winslow Townson photograph
I’ve seen Nelsons conduct the two programs since the stunning announcement. Both have been lovefests surrounding Nelsons on the podium: the audience stomping and hooting, the orchestra, sporting red carnations in solidarity, stomping as well.
It seems impossible that this disconnect between management and the entire BSO community could continue through Tanglewood 2027, when Nelsons’s contract actually expires. I suspect announcements will come along with the Tanglewood season this summer—something has to be done. For now, I’ll avert my eyes from this wreck.
I will be reviewing Andrew Norman’s premiere with the BSO later in April for CVNA (after Nelsons leaves for the season, with Mälkki), and Boston Baroque’s Idomeneo later in April. Cheers.