Charles Dutoit, the Conductor Fired Over Abuse Claims, Turns 90
The Swiss conductor, fired by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 2017 over sexual misconduct allegations he denies, marks his 90th birthday having never faced prosecution.
Programme
- Charles Dutoit turns 90 tomorrow, according to Slippedisc.
- The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra fired Dutoit as principal conductor in 2017 over alleged sexual misconduct.
- A 2018 Boston Symphony investigation found credible accusations that Dutoit had sexually assaulted female coworkers.
- Fiona Allan, later head of the Sydney Opera House, told Slippedisc Dutoit assaulted her at Tanglewood.
- Dutoit denies all accusations and has never been prosecuted.
Charles Dutoit, the Swiss conductor dismissed as principal conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 2017 over alleged sexual misconduct, turns 90 tomorrow.
Dutoit has never been prosecuted over the accusations, which mounted during the post-2017 reckoning in classical music. He denies all of them.
What happened in 2017 and 2018?
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra fired Dutoit in January 2017 after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced publicly. The following year, a Boston Symphony Orchestra investigation examined claims that Dutoit, who had a long association with the ensemble, had assaulted female coworkers.
According to Slippedisc, the site that first reported the story, the Boston Symphony investigation found the accusations credible — specifically, claims that Dutoit 'had sexually assaulted females coworkers'.
Among the accusers was Fiona Allan, a British theatre director who later became head of the Sydney Opera House. She told Slippedisc that Dutoit had assaulted her at Tanglewood, the Boston Symphony's summer home in Massachusetts.
Dutoit has consistently denied the accusations.
What has happened since?
No criminal charges were ever brought against the conductor. His former wife, the pianist Martha Argerich, continued to perform with him after the allegations became public.
Dutoit's case remains one of the most prominent to emerge from the wave of misconduct allegations that swept through the classical music world beginning in late 2017, when reports first appeared in the American press.
Why does the 90th birthday matter?
The milestone draws renewed attention to an unresolved chapter in recent classical music history: a major conductor, cleared of nothing in court but implicated by an institutional inquiry, who never faced prosecution.
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra terminated its relationship with Dutoit in 2017. The Boston Symphony, having found the 2018 accusations credible, cut ties as well.
As Dutoit marks his 90th birthday, the gap between institutional verdicts and legal outcomes in his case remains an open question for the industry that once celebrated him.
Source: Slipped Disc
