The People Who Failed Classical Music: A List of Names, Decisions, and Consequences

Classical music was not killed by streaming, or by changing tastes, or by an aging audience. Classical music was damaged — in specific, measurable ways — by specific people who made specific decisions.

This is a list of those people. It is organized by the scale of what they destroyed. Every claim is sourced to public filings, published reporting, or official statements. No anonymous allegations. No rumor. Just the record.

1. Peter Gelb — General Manager, Metropolitan Opera (2006–present)

What he did: Presided over the most financially catastrophic period in the Met's history while planning to stay until 2030.

The damage:

$120 million drained from the endowment since FY2023 (Moody's)
Credit rating downgraded to Caa1 — junk territory, seven notches below investment grade
$178 million in outstanding debt
$47 million annual operating deficit (FY2024)
Season cut to 17 productions — the smallest in 60 years
Chorus told to accept an 80% pay cut (Met chorus, pre-SFS situation)
Suspended all musician paychecks during COVID — the only major opera company in America to do so — saving $41 million in wages while one-third of musicians left New York
Cultivated fraudulent donor Matthew Christopher Pietras for years, elevated him to board Managing Director, counted his phantom $15 million in projections. Pietras died by suicide when the fraud was exposed
Commissioned a $16 million stage machine for the Ring cycle that critics called a noisy distraction
Censored critics: personally called WQXR's CEO to kill a critical blog post; Opera News stopped reviewing Met productions after his intervention
Chagall murals and building naming rights put up for sale
Bet the institution's future on a $200 million Saudi deal that has not delivered
His total career compensation from the Met: approximately $41 million — roughly equal to what he saved by not paying musicians

Still employed. Plans to retire in 2030.

Sources: Moody's, IRS Form 990 (ProPublica), Bloomberg, NPR, Slippedisc, OperaWire, City Journal, Washington Post.

2. Susan Baker — Board Chair, New York City Opera

What she did: Hired a general director she couldn't fund, then watched the endowment burn.

The damage:

Hired Gerard Mortier and promised him a vastly expanded budget without the fundraising to support it
Used the endowment as a piggy bank: City Opera's endowment shrank from $48 million in 2008 to $5 million by June 2012
In late 2008 and early 2009, the board used $24 million from the endowment to meet payroll — and never repaid it
Agreed to vacate the New York State Theater for a full year (2008-09) for renovations with no plan to perform elsewhere — eliminating all box office revenue while continuing to pay unionized employees
The audience never returned
City Opera filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2013 — ending a 70-year institution

Symphony.org's assessment: "Susan Baker was responsible almost exclusively for that disaster."

Sources: Symphony.org ("Board Room: Who Killed City Opera?"), Wikipedia, The American Reader, Crain's New York.

3. Chad Smith — President & CEO, Boston Symphony Orchestra (2023–present)

What he did: Fired the most successful conductor in BSO's modern history via email on a Friday afternoon, then couldn't explain why.

The damage:

Changed Nelsons' contract from fixed-term to rolling in January 2024 — removing the structural protection that secured the music director's position — then used the flexibility to fire him 14 months later
Announced the firing via email at 3:45 PM on a Friday — the hour reserved for announcements institutions want buried
Offered seven words of explanation: "not aligned on future vision"
Three weeks later, still unable to articulate the vision to the musicians in a formal meeting
Musicians described "institution-wide dysfunction" and "inability to articulate any artistic vision"
His management described by BSO employees as creating an atmosphere of "fear, intimidation, and ridicule" (Boston Globe)
At the LA Phil, where he spent 20 years, colleagues described him as "cold and distant, petty and cruel" (Slippedisc)
Salary: $368,806 (partial first year) while musicians earned $162,000 at the wealthiest orchestra in America
His predecessor from the LA Phil — Gail Samuel — lasted 18 months before resigning amid HR complaints about her appointee's bullying

Still employed. No successor conductor named.

Sources: Boston Globe, WBUR, Berkshire Eagle, Slippedisc, IRS Form 990 (ProPublica).

4. Barbara Hostetter — Board Chair, Boston Symphony Orchestra

What she did: Hired two consecutive LA Phil executives who created toxic environments, then backed the firing of a Grammy-winning conductor.

The damage:

Oversaw the hiring of Gail Samuel (lasted 18 months, HR investigation into her appointee's bullying)
Oversaw the hiring of Chad Smith (see above)
Led the board that fired Andris Nelsons — multiple Grammys, audience recovery, unanimous musician support — without consulting the musicians
The BSO has $618 million in net assets yet claims financial distress
Musicians reported receiving "no reassurance that there is a path to rebuilding trust"
A petition demanding a public town hall has been circulating since her decision
Previously oversaw "modernization" of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum — brought the same transformation instinct to a functioning orchestra

Still Board Chair.

Sources: Boston Globe, Berkshire Eagle, WBUR, BSO Musicians' Committee statements.

5. Halbe Zijlstra — State Secretary for Culture, Netherlands (2010–2012)

What he did: Cut €200 million from Dutch arts funding with a smile on television.

The damage:

Announced the cuts on Dutch national news in December 2010 with the words "No one is safe" — delivered with what observers described as a sardonic smile
€200 million cut from the national arts budget — approximately 25% of total cultural funding
The Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic and Radio Symphony Orchestra forced to merge with significant job losses
The Limburgs Symfonie Orkest lost all state funding
Multiple smaller ensembles and arts organizations closed permanently
The cuts collapsed the Dutch music school system
The Concertgebouw — one of the three greatest orchestras in the world — had its subsidy frozen in real terms, contributing to musician salaries that are half of what Berlin Philharmonic players earn
Later became Foreign Minister; resigned in 2018 after being caught lying about meeting Putin — a separate scandal that revealed the character behind the policy

No longer in office. The damage remains.

Sources: Fillip, Merijn Oudenampsen ("Dutch Culture Wars"), Slippedisc, Frieze.

6. Matthew Spivey — CEO, San Francisco Symphony

What he did: Oversaw back-to-back deficits totaling $26.6 million while earning $724,000 and losing the music director.

The damage:

$16.8 million deficit in FY2024, following $9.8 million deficit in FY2023
Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen quit, publicly stating: "I do not share the same goals for the future of the institution as the Board of Governors does"
Proposed cutting chorus pay by 80% — from $21,621 to $4,324 per singer — triggering a strike that cancelled the season-opening Verdi Requiem
Orchestra musicians authorized a strike one week before the 2025-26 season opener
Musicians noted that management salaries had been fully restored to pre-pandemic levels while musician salaries had not
SoundBox, new commissions, touring, and Concerts for Kids — all cut
The 2025-26 season described by critics as a "Top Hits of Classical Music channel on Spotify"
No music director. No plan. Davies Hall still acoustically broken.
Compensation: $724,481 (FY2024)

Still employed.

Sources: IRS Form 990 (ProPublica), SFCV, Slippedisc, NPR, OperaWire.

7. Nadine Dorries — Culture Secretary, United Kingdom (2021–2023)

What she did: Ordered the exile of England's national opera company from its home city.

The damage:

Insisted that millions of pounds of arts funding be transferred out of London as part of the Conservative "levelling up" agenda
Arts Council England told English National Opera to relocate from London or lose its funding — November 2022
ENO's annual funding cut from £12.4 million to a transitional £11.46 million conditional on leaving London
ENO has performed at the London Coliseum since 1968 — 54 years of institutional history disrupted by a politician's agenda
The relocation plan to Manchester remains chaotic and uncertain
Dorries was widely criticized for lacking any expertise in cultural policy
She had previously appeared as a contestant on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in 2012 — the Culture Secretary who exiled England's national opera company had a decade earlier chosen to eat insects on television for entertainment.

No longer in office. ENO remains in limbo.

Sources: Arts Council England, The Guardian, Slippedisc, The Violin Channel.

8. Michael Henson — CEO, Minnesota Orchestra (2008–2014)

What he did: Locked out the musicians for 16 months while claiming a financial crisis that didn't exist.

The damage:

Demanded 30-50% pay cuts from musicians, claiming financial emergency
Simultaneously oversaw a $110 million Orchestra Hall renovation — spending lavishly on the building while claiming poverty for salaries
Locked out musicians for 16 months (October 2012 – February 2014) — one of the longest work stoppages in American orchestra history
Music Director Osmo Vänskä resigned in protest
The community formed "Save Our Symphony Minnesota" — donors publicly withheld contributions until leadership changed
Henson resigned in January 2014 — forced out by the musicians, donors, and community he had underestimated

The lesson: Musicians can win. It takes 16 months, a community coalition, and donor revolt — but the CEO resigns.

Sources: Star Tribune, MPR News, Slippedisc, ArtsJournal.

9. Mark Volpe — CEO, Boston Symphony Orchestra (1997–2021)

What he did: Presided over a 24-year tenure during which the BSO's structural challenges quietly accumulated.

The damage:

Ran the BSO for 24 years — longer than any CEO in BSO history
During his tenure, subscription erosion began and accelerated
The "structural deficit" that the current board cites as justification for firing Nelsons built up under Volpe's watch
Deferred maintenance reached $90 million ($45M at Tanglewood, $45M at Symphony Hall)
The Boston Musical Intelligencer noted that the BSO's "long financial decline has its roots in the 23-year tenure of Mark Volpe"
Musicians took 37% pay cuts during COVID under a contract negotiated on his watch
He departed in 2021, handing his successor an institution with deep structural problems and a workforce that had just sacrificed a third of their income

Retired. The consequences landed on his successor's desk — and on the musicians.

Sources: Boston Musical Intelligencer, Berkshire Eagle, Boston Globe.

10. The Trump Administration — Proposed Elimination of the NEA (2025)

What they proposed: Ending all federal funding for the arts in the United States.

The damage (so far):

In May 2025, proposed the wholesale elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
NEA grant termination notices sent to organizations with pending awards
Offers previously extended but not yet issued were rescinded
Organizations with current contracts told their grants would be terminated as of May 31, 2025
The NEA's entire annual budget — $207 million — is what the United States government has decided all arts are worth. The proposal is to reduce that to zero
For context: Russia spends $1.5 billion on culture annually. China spends billions more. The US proposed spending nothing.
Congress has not voted on the elimination. In Trump's first term, similar proposals were blocked.
The message: the arts are not a government priority. They are a line item to be zeroed out.

Sources: NPR, Washington Post, ArtNews, American Theatre, Arts Services Inc.

11. Allison Vulgamore — CEO, Philadelphia Orchestra (2006–2017)

What she did: Filed for bankruptcy at an orchestra with $140 million in assets and zero debt.

The damage:

In April 2011, led the first major American orchestra into Chapter 11 bankruptcy — stunning the arts world
At the time of filing, the Philadelphia Orchestra had a $140 million endowment and no outstanding debt (ICSOM)
The stated justification: a $14.5 million structural deficit, declining ticket revenues, and pension obligations
All five musician board members voted against bankruptcy — they were overruled
Legal scholars questioned the filing: the orchestra's assets vastly exceeded its deficits
Used bankruptcy to shed pension obligations — criticized by Philanthropy News Digest as dodging fiduciary responsibility to retired musicians
The orchestra emerged from bankruptcy in 2012, but the reputational damage was permanent: the Philadelphia Orchestra, one of the "Big Five," had told the world it couldn't manage its finances
If the Philadelphia Orchestra's legacy is not entirely Vulgamore's to own, bankruptcy is likely to be what is remembered

Departed 2017.

Sources: NPR, Philadelphia Inquirer, ICSOM, Philanthropy News Digest, Broad Street Review, Adaptistration.

12. The San Antonio Symphony Board (2021–2022)

What they did: Offered musicians $24,000 a year, then dissolved an 83-year-old orchestra and blamed the musicians.

The damage:

Proposed cutting the number of full-time musicians from over 70 to approximately 40
Proposed reducing salaries to approximately $24,000 per year — below the poverty line for a family in Texas
When musicians struck in September 2021, the board waited them out
On June 16, 2022, the board voted unanimously to dissolve the San Antonio Symphony via Chapter 7 bankruptcy — ending an 83-year institution
The board blamed the musicians for the dissolution, citing "stalled negotiations"
Former Music Director Sebastian Lang-Lessing: "It's totally in contradiction with the mission of the San Antonio Symphony, and they need to be held accountable for that. To just dissolve now and blame the musicians is a very arrogant move."
None of the three musicians on the board were present at the dissolution meeting or voted — despite the board's claim of a "unanimous" vote
Executive Director Corey Cowart declined to comment
The musicians formed the San Antonio Philharmonic from the ashes — which has itself since struggled with staff and board turnover
A replacement orchestra born from the rubble of the institution that the board destroyed

Sources: San Antonio Report, TPR, San Antonio Current, Classic FM, Slippedisc, SFCV.

13. James Johnson — CEO, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra

What he did: Terminated health insurance for furloughed musicians during a pandemic — the only major orchestra in America to do so.

The damage:

Furloughed musicians in March 2020 when COVID hit
Brought them back for 8 weeks using a PPP loan (federal pandemic relief)
When the PPP period ended on June 7, 2020, furloughed musicians again — and this time terminated their employer-sponsored health insurance
The Indianapolis Symphony was the only ICSOM orchestra in the nation to terminate health insurance during the pandemic
ICSOM chairperson Meredith Snow: "No other ICSOM orchestras have terminated health care"
Orchestra committee chair Brian Smith: the decision was made "unilaterally by the ISO management"
Musicians lost both their income and their health coverage during a global health emergency
The decision revealed what management considered musicians to be: not essential employees during a crisis, but costs to be eliminated

Sources: WISH-TV, Indianapolis Business Journal, The Strad, Adaptistration, WFYI.

14. Richard Worley — Board Chairman, Philadelphia Orchestra (2011)

What he did: Cast the deciding vote for bankruptcy over the objections of every musician on the board.

The damage:

As board chairman, led the vote to file Chapter 11 despite $140 million in assets and no debt
Overruled all five musician board members who voted against
Co-authored a letter with CEO Vulgamore explaining the decision — but the math never added up: a $14.5 million deficit against a $140 million endowment is a 10:1 ratio, comparable to the BSO's current position, which no one considers a bankruptcy candidate
The filing was widely interpreted as a tool to break labor contracts and reduce pension obligations, not as a genuine financial emergency
The Philadelphia Orchestra's reputation — built over a century by Stokowski, Ormandy, and Muti — was permanently diminished by the bankruptcy label

Sources: NPR, ICSOM ("$140 Million Cash and No Debts"), Philadelphia Inquirer.

15. The Metropolitan Opera — The Levine Cover-Up (1979–2018)

What they did: Knew about James Levine's sexual abuse for 39 years and did nothing.

The timeline:

1979: An anonymous letter was sent to Met executive director Anthony A. Bliss alleging sexual misconduct by Levine. Bliss's response: "Scurrilous rumors have been circulating for some months and have often been accompanied by other charges which we know for a fact are untrue."
1980s–2000s: Reports of Levine's abuse of teenage boys were, in the words of Juilliard faculty member Greg Sandow, "widely talked about for 40 years" in the classical music industry. "Everybody in the classical music business at least since the 1980s has talked about Levine as a sex abuser."
October 2016: A detective from Lake Forest, Illinois contacted the Met investigating an allegation that Levine sexually abused a 16-year-old. Peter Gelb briefed board leaders. Levine denied the allegations. The Met took no action.
December 2017: Three men alleged abuse in New York Times articles, dating back to 1968. The Met finally suspended Levine.
March 2018: The Met fired Levine. Their investigation found he had "engaged in sexually abusive and harassing conduct towards vulnerable artists" — interviewing more than 70 people and finding credible evidence spanning the 1960s to 2000.
Total accusers: At least nine men have made public accusations. Several were teenagers when the abuse occurred.
The settlement: Levine sued the Met for breach of contract and defamation. The case was settled. The Met paid approximately $3.5 million — $2.6 million out of pocket.
2021: A former student sued the Met Opera and Levine's estate for $25 million for sexual abuse under the New York Child Victims Act.

The Met knew in 1979. They dismissed it. They knew in 2016. They briefed the board and took no action. They knew, industry-wide, for four decades. An institution that claims to protect artists protected their abuser for 39 years because he was the most famous conductor in America.

Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, CBS News, The Violin Channel, Variety.

16. Jeffrey Epstein — The Patron Who Used Music Schools to Hunt Children

What he did: Donated $400,000+ to Interlochen Arts Camp, built a lodge on campus, and used it as a base to recruit victims as young as 13.

The documented connections:

Epstein was a former student at Interlochen (attended on a scholarship as a bassoon player in 1967)
Over 13 years, donated more than $400,000 to the school, funded construction of an on-campus lodge, established a scholarship fund, and hosted alumni events
He once arranged his private jet to bring violinist Itzhak Perlman to Interlochen
From that lodge, with Ghislaine Maxwell, he met and recruited victims: a 13-year-old and a 14-year-old student at the summer arts camp in the mid-1990s
The 13-year-old testified at Maxwell's 2021 criminal trial about abuse that began at Interlochen
Epstein paid tuition for a young woman to attend Interlochen's year-round boarding school and offered to finance her conservatory education afterward
He was a Juilliard donor and used his professed love of classical music to lure young female students to his Upper East Side townhouse for "music theory lessons"
He purchased one of the most expensive cellos in the world for a young Israeli cellist
Leon Botstein, president of Bard College and conductor of The Orchestra Now, appears 2,500 times in the released Epstein files. Botstein received $150,000 in compensation for serving on the advisory board of Gratitude America, an Epstein foundation, as a music expert for one year. He said he donated it to Bard. Through Epstein's introduction, Bard received a $250,000 donation from billionaire Leon Black. Bard's board has hired a firm to investigate the relationship.

Classical music was not incidental to Epstein's operation. It was infrastructure. The schools, the donations, the scholarships, the lodge, the private jet with Perlman — all of it built the credibility he needed to be alone with children.

Sources: NPR (February/March 2026), Slippedisc, The Violin Channel, Inside Higher Ed, Irish Times, Rolling Stone.

17. Charles Dutoit — 10 Accusers, Zero Consequences

What he did: Sexually assaulted at least 10 women across decades. Orchestras kept booking him.

The record:

In December 2017, the Associated Press reported that four women accused Dutoit of sexual assault during rehearsals and performances in five cities: Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and Saratoga Springs
In January 2018, six more women came forward — four of them musicians — describing assaults in Montreal, Paris, and the United States between the late 1970s and early 2000s
One accuser reported that after being assaulted, she told the orchestra manager, who responded that they usually advised women not to enter Dutoit's dressing room unaccompanied, as there had been previous complaints
The orchestras of Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Cleveland, and Sydney broke ties with Dutoit
The BSO's investigation found the allegation against Dutoit "credible"
Despite all of this, Dutoit conducted the Orchestre National de France in February 2019 — approximately 14 months after the allegations became public
No criminal charges were ever filed
Total accusers: At least 10 women across multiple countries and decades

The orchestra managers knew. "They usually advised women not to enter Dutoit's dressing room unaccompanied." They knew, and their solution was to warn women to avoid the predator rather than remove him.

Sources: NPR, Associated Press, CBC, Billboard, Classic FM.

18. Daniele Gatti — The Concertgebouw's Two-Year Mistake

What he did: Sexually harassed musicians and students, was fired by the world's most prestigious orchestra, and returned to conducting within months.

The record:

Appointed Chief Conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in September 2016
In July 2018, the Washington Post published allegations from two sopranos: one described Gatti forcing himself on her after inviting her to his dressing room at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1996; the other described pushing him off during a run of Wagner in Bologna
After the Post article, additional Concertgebouw musicians came forward with their own experiences
The Concertgebouw fired Gatti within days — one of the swiftest institutional responses in classical music's #MeToo reckoning
Gatti denied all allegations
No criminal charges
He returned to conducting in Italy almost immediately — appointed to major Italian positions within months
The Concertgebouw was left without a chief conductor for years, eventually appointing Klaus Mäkelä — who then also withdrew, leaving them still searching

The speed of Gatti's firing was admirable. The speed of his rehabilitation was not. He was conducting in Italy before the Concertgebouw had finished mourning the relationship.

Sources: Washington Post, NPR, Classic FM, Billboard, Slippedisc.

The Pattern

Read the list again. What do these people have in common?

They are not musicians. They are managers, board chairs, politicians, and executives. They do not play instruments. They do not stand on podiums. They do not sit in chairs and rehearse until the intonation is right.

They sit in offices. They attend board meetings. They make decisions about institutions they do not viscerally understand. And when their decisions fail — when the endowment is drained, when the orchestra folds, when the conductor quits, when the chorus strikes — they retire with honorary titles, move to the next institution, or appear on reality television.

The musicians remain. The musicians always remain. They take the pay cuts. They authorize the strikes. They hand out the leaflets. They pin the red roses to their coats. And when the dust settles, they walk back onto the stage, pick up their instruments, and play — because the music is the only thing that none of these people could destroy.

Sources: IRS Form 990 filings (ProPublica). Moody's. Bloomberg. Washington Post. Boston Globe. WBUR. Berkshire Eagle. NPR. Slippedisc. The Violin Channel. OperaWire. SFCV. ArtsJournal. Star Tribune. MPR News. Symphony.org. Arts Council England. Fillip. Frieze. The American Reader. Crain's New York. ArtNews. American Theatre.

1. Peter Gelb — General Manager, Metropolitan Opera (2006–present)

What he did: Presided over the most financially catastrophic period in the Met's history while planning to stay until 2030.

The damage:

$120 million drained from the endowment since FY2023 (Moody's)
Credit rating downgraded to Caa1 — junk territory, seven notches below investment grade
$178 million in outstanding debt
$47 million annual operating deficit (FY2024)
Season cut to 17 productions — the smallest in 60 years
Chorus told to accept an 80% pay cut (Met chorus, pre-SFS situation)
Suspended all musician paychecks during COVID — the only major opera company in America to do so — saving $41 million in wages while one-third of musicians left New York
Cultivated fraudulent donor Matthew Christopher Pietras for years, elevated him to board Managing Director, counted his phantom $15 million in projections. Pietras died by suicide when the fraud was exposed
Commissioned a $16 million stage machine for the Ring cycle that critics called a noisy distraction
Censored critics: personally called WQXR's CEO to kill a critical blog post; Opera News stopped reviewing Met productions after his intervention
Chagall murals and building naming rights put up for sale
Bet the institution's future on a $200 million Saudi deal that has not delivered
His total career compensation from the Met: approximately $41 million — roughly equal to what he saved by not paying musicians

Still employed. Plans to retire in 2030.

Sources: Moody's, IRS Form 990 (ProPublica), Bloomberg, NPR, Slippedisc, OperaWire, City Journal, Washington Post.

2. Susan Baker — Board Chair, New York City Opera

What she did: Hired a general director she couldn't fund, then watched the endowment burn.

The damage:

Hired Gerard Mortier and promised him a vastly expanded budget without the fundraising to support it
Used the endowment as a piggy bank: City Opera's endowment shrank from $48 million in 2008 to $5 million by June 2012
In late 2008 and early 2009, the board used $24 million from the endowment to meet payroll — and never repaid it
Agreed to vacate the New York State Theater for a full year (2008-09) for renovations with no plan to perform elsewhere — eliminating all box office revenue while continuing to pay unionized employees
The audience never returned
City Opera filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2013 — ending a 70-year institution

Symphony.org's assessment: "Susan Baker was responsible almost exclusively for that disaster."

Sources: Symphony.org ("Board Room: Who Killed City Opera?"), Wikipedia, The American Reader, Crain's New York.

3. Chad Smith — President & CEO, Boston Symphony Orchestra (2023–present)

What he did: Fired the most successful conductor in BSO's modern history via email on a Friday afternoon, then couldn't explain why.

The damage:

Changed Nelsons' contract from fixed-term to rolling in January 2024 — removing the structural protection that secured the music director's position — then used the flexibility to fire him 14 months later
Announced the firing via email at 3:45 PM on a Friday — the hour reserved for announcements institutions want buried
Offered seven words of explanation: "not aligned on future vision"
Three weeks later, still unable to articulate the vision to the musicians in a formal meeting
Musicians described "institution-wide dysfunction" and "inability to articulate any artistic vision"
His management described by BSO employees as creating an atmosphere of "fear, intimidation, and ridicule" (Boston Globe)
At the LA Phil, where he spent 20 years, colleagues described him as "cold and distant, petty and cruel" (Slippedisc)
Salary: $368,806 (partial first year) while musicians earned $162,000 at the wealthiest orchestra in America
His predecessor from the LA Phil — Gail Samuel — lasted 18 months before resigning amid HR complaints about her appointee's bullying

Still employed. No successor conductor named.

Sources: Boston Globe, WBUR, Berkshire Eagle, Slippedisc, IRS Form 990 (ProPublica).

4. Barbara Hostetter — Board Chair, Boston Symphony Orchestra

What she did: Hired two consecutive LA Phil executives who created toxic environments, then backed the firing of a Grammy-winning conductor.

The damage:

Oversaw the hiring of Gail Samuel (lasted 18 months, HR investigation into her appointee's bullying)
Oversaw the hiring of Chad Smith (see above)
Led the board that fired Andris Nelsons — multiple Grammys, audience recovery, unanimous musician support — without consulting the musicians
The BSO has $618 million in net assets yet claims financial distress
Musicians reported receiving "no reassurance that there is a path to rebuilding trust"
A petition demanding a public town hall has been circulating since her decision
Previously oversaw "modernization" of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum — brought the same transformation instinct to a functioning orchestra

Still Board Chair.

Sources: Boston Globe, Berkshire Eagle, WBUR, BSO Musicians' Committee statements.

5. Halbe Zijlstra — State Secretary for Culture, Netherlands (2010–2012)

What he did: Cut €200 million from Dutch arts funding with a smile on television.

The damage:

Announced the cuts on Dutch national news in December 2010 with the words "No one is safe" — delivered with what observers described as a sardonic smile
€200 million cut from the national arts budget — approximately 25% of total cultural funding
The Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic and Radio Symphony Orchestra forced to merge with significant job losses
The Limburgs Symfonie Orkest lost all state funding
Multiple smaller ensembles and arts organizations closed permanently
The cuts collapsed the Dutch music school system
The Concertgebouw — one of the three greatest orchestras in the world — had its subsidy frozen in real terms, contributing to musician salaries that are half of what Berlin Philharmonic players earn
Later became Foreign Minister; resigned in 2018 after being caught lying about meeting Putin — a separate scandal that revealed the character behind the policy

No longer in office. The damage remains.

Sources: Fillip, Merijn Oudenampsen ("Dutch Culture Wars"), Slippedisc, Frieze.

6. Matthew Spivey — CEO, San Francisco Symphony

What he did: Oversaw back-to-back deficits totaling $26.6 million while earning $724,000 and losing the music director.

The damage:

$16.8 million deficit in FY2024, following $9.8 million deficit in FY2023
Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen quit, publicly stating: "I do not share the same goals for the future of the institution as the Board of Governors does"
Proposed cutting chorus pay by 80% — from $21,621 to $4,324 per singer — triggering a strike that cancelled the season-opening Verdi Requiem
Orchestra musicians authorized a strike one week before the 2025-26 season opener
Musicians noted that management salaries had been fully restored to pre-pandemic levels while musician salaries had not
SoundBox, new commissions, touring, and Concerts for Kids — all cut
The 2025-26 season described by critics as a "Top Hits of Classical Music channel on Spotify"
No music director. No plan. Davies Hall still acoustically broken.
Compensation: $724,481 (FY2024)

Still employed.

Sources: IRS Form 990 (ProPublica), SFCV, Slippedisc, NPR, OperaWire.

7. Nadine Dorries — Culture Secretary, United Kingdom (2021–2023)

What she did: Ordered the exile of England's national opera company from its home city.

The damage:

Insisted that millions of pounds of arts funding be transferred out of London as part of the Conservative "levelling up" agenda
Arts Council England told English National Opera to relocate from London or lose its funding — November 2022
ENO's annual funding cut from £12.4 million to a transitional £11.46 million conditional on leaving London
ENO has performed at the London Coliseum since 1968 — 54 years of institutional history disrupted by a politician's agenda
The relocation plan to Manchester remains chaotic and uncertain
Dorries was widely criticized for lacking any expertise in cultural policy
She had previously appeared as a contestant on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in 2012 — the Culture Secretary who exiled England's national opera company had a decade earlier chosen to eat insects on television for entertainment.

No longer in office. ENO remains in limbo.

Sources: Arts Council England, The Guardian, Slippedisc, The Violin Channel.

8. Michael Henson — CEO, Minnesota Orchestra (2008–2014)

What he did: Locked out the musicians for 16 months while claiming a financial crisis that didn't exist.

The damage:

Demanded 30-50% pay cuts from musicians, claiming financial emergency
Simultaneously oversaw a $110 million Orchestra Hall renovation — spending lavishly on the building while claiming poverty for salaries
Locked out musicians for 16 months (October 2012 – February 2014) — one of the longest work stoppages in American orchestra history
Music Director Osmo Vänskä resigned in protest
The community formed "Save Our Symphony Minnesota" — donors publicly withheld contributions until leadership changed
Henson resigned in January 2014 — forced out by the musicians, donors, and community he had underestimated

The lesson: Musicians can win. It takes 16 months, a community coalition, and donor revolt — but the CEO resigns.

Sources: Star Tribune, MPR News, Slippedisc, ArtsJournal.

9. Mark Volpe — CEO, Boston Symphony Orchestra (1997–2021)

What he did: Presided over a 24-year tenure during which the BSO's structural challenges quietly accumulated.

The damage:

Ran the BSO for 24 years — longer than any CEO in BSO history
During his tenure, subscription erosion began and accelerated
The "structural deficit" that the current board cites as justification for firing Nelsons built up under Volpe's watch
Deferred maintenance reached $90 million ($45M at Tanglewood, $45M at Symphony Hall)
The Boston Musical Intelligencer noted that the BSO's "long financial decline has its roots in the 23-year tenure of Mark Volpe"
Musicians took 37% pay cuts during COVID under a contract negotiated on his watch
He departed in 2021, handing his successor an institution with deep structural problems and a workforce that had just sacrificed a third of their income

Retired. The consequences landed on his successor's desk — and on the musicians.

Sources: Boston Musical Intelligencer, Berkshire Eagle, Boston Globe.

10. The Trump Administration — Proposed Elimination of the NEA (2025)

What they proposed: Ending all federal funding for the arts in the United States.

The damage (so far):

In May 2025, proposed the wholesale elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
NEA grant termination notices sent to organizations with pending awards
Offers previously extended but not yet issued were rescinded
Organizations with current contracts told their grants would be terminated as of May 31, 2025
The NEA's entire annual budget — $207 million — is what the United States government has decided all arts are worth. The proposal is to reduce that to zero
For context: Russia spends $1.5 billion on culture annually. China spends billions more. The US proposed spending nothing.
Congress has not voted on the elimination. In Trump's first term, similar proposals were blocked.
The message: the arts are not a government priority. They are a line item to be zeroed out.

Sources: NPR, Washington Post, ArtNews, American Theatre, Arts Services Inc.

11. Allison Vulgamore — CEO, Philadelphia Orchestra (2006–2017)

What she did: Filed for bankruptcy at an orchestra with $140 million in assets and zero debt.

The damage:

In April 2011, led the first major American orchestra into Chapter 11 bankruptcy — stunning the arts world
At the time of filing, the Philadelphia Orchestra had a $140 million endowment and no outstanding debt (ICSOM)
The stated justification: a $14.5 million structural deficit, declining ticket revenues, and pension obligations
All five musician board members voted against bankruptcy — they were overruled
Legal scholars questioned the filing: the orchestra's assets vastly exceeded its deficits
Used bankruptcy to shed pension obligations — criticized by Philanthropy News Digest as dodging fiduciary responsibility to retired musicians
The orchestra emerged from bankruptcy in 2012, but the reputational damage was permanent: the Philadelphia Orchestra, one of the "Big Five," had told the world it couldn't manage its finances
If the Philadelphia Orchestra's legacy is not entirely Vulgamore's to own, bankruptcy is likely to be what is remembered

Departed 2017.

Sources: NPR, Philadelphia Inquirer, ICSOM, Philanthropy News Digest, Broad Street Review, Adaptistration.

12. The San Antonio Symphony Board (2021–2022)

What they did: Offered musicians $24,000 a year, then dissolved an 83-year-old orchestra and blamed the musicians.

The damage:

Proposed cutting the number of full-time musicians from over 70 to approximately 40
Proposed reducing salaries to approximately $24,000 per year — below the poverty line for a family in Texas
When musicians struck in September 2021, the board waited them out
On June 16, 2022, the board voted unanimously to dissolve the San Antonio Symphony via Chapter 7 bankruptcy — ending an 83-year institution
The board blamed the musicians for the dissolution, citing "stalled negotiations"
Former Music Director Sebastian Lang-Lessing: "It's totally in contradiction with the mission of the San Antonio Symphony, and they need to be held accountable for that. To just dissolve now and blame the musicians is a very arrogant move."
None of the three musicians on the board were present at the dissolution meeting or voted — despite the board's claim of a "unanimous" vote
Executive Director Corey Cowart declined to comment
The musicians formed the San Antonio Philharmonic from the ashes — which has itself since struggled with staff and board turnover
A replacement orchestra born from the rubble of the institution that the board destroyed

Sources: San Antonio Report, TPR, San Antonio Current, Classic FM, Slippedisc, SFCV.

13. James Johnson — CEO, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra

What he did: Terminated health insurance for furloughed musicians during a pandemic — the only major orchestra in America to do so.

The damage:

Furloughed musicians in March 2020 when COVID hit
Brought them back for 8 weeks using a PPP loan (federal pandemic relief)
When the PPP period ended on June 7, 2020, furloughed musicians again — and this time terminated their employer-sponsored health insurance
The Indianapolis Symphony was the only ICSOM orchestra in the nation to terminate health insurance during the pandemic
ICSOM chairperson Meredith Snow: "No other ICSOM orchestras have terminated health care"
Orchestra committee chair Brian Smith: the decision was made "unilaterally by the ISO management"
Musicians lost both their income and their health coverage during a global health emergency
The decision revealed what management considered musicians to be: not essential employees during a crisis, but costs to be eliminated

Sources: WISH-TV, Indianapolis Business Journal, The Strad, Adaptistration, WFYI.

14. Richard Worley — Board Chairman, Philadelphia Orchestra (2011)

What he did: Cast the deciding vote for bankruptcy over the objections of every musician on the board.

The damage:

As board chairman, led the vote to file Chapter 11 despite $140 million in assets and no debt
Overruled all five musician board members who voted against
Co-authored a letter with CEO Vulgamore explaining the decision — but the math never added up: a $14.5 million deficit against a $140 million endowment is a 10:1 ratio, comparable to the BSO's current position, which no one considers a bankruptcy candidate
The filing was widely interpreted as a tool to break labor contracts and reduce pension obligations, not as a genuine financial emergency
The Philadelphia Orchestra's reputation — built over a century by Stokowski, Ormandy, and Muti — was permanently diminished by the bankruptcy label

Sources: NPR, ICSOM ("$140 Million Cash and No Debts"), Philadelphia Inquirer.

15. The Metropolitan Opera — The Levine Cover-Up (1979–2018)

What they did: Knew about James Levine's sexual abuse for 39 years and did nothing.

The timeline:

1979: An anonymous letter was sent to Met executive director Anthony A. Bliss alleging sexual misconduct by Levine. Bliss's response: "Scurrilous rumors have been circulating for some months and have often been accompanied by other charges which we know for a fact are untrue."
1980s–2000s: Reports of Levine's abuse of teenage boys were, in the words of Juilliard faculty member Greg Sandow, "widely talked about for 40 years" in the classical music industry. "Everybody in the classical music business at least since the 1980s has talked about Levine as a sex abuser."
October 2016: A detective from Lake Forest, Illinois contacted the Met investigating an allegation that Levine sexually abused a 16-year-old. Peter Gelb briefed board leaders. Levine denied the allegations. The Met took no action.
December 2017: Three men alleged abuse in New York Times articles, dating back to 1968. The Met finally suspended Levine.
March 2018: The Met fired Levine. Their investigation found he had "engaged in sexually abusive and harassing conduct towards vulnerable artists" — interviewing more than 70 people and finding credible evidence spanning the 1960s to 2000.
Total accusers: At least nine men have made public accusations. Several were teenagers when the abuse occurred.
The settlement: Levine sued the Met for breach of contract and defamation. The case was settled. The Met paid approximately $3.5 million — $2.6 million out of pocket.
2021: A former student sued the Met Opera and Levine's estate for $25 million for sexual abuse under the New York Child Victims Act.

Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, CBS News, The Violin Channel, Variety.

16. Jeffrey Epstein — The Patron Who Used Music Schools to Hunt Children

What he did: Donated $400,000+ to Interlochen Arts Camp, built a lodge on campus, and used it as a base to recruit victims as young as 13.

The documented connections:

Epstein was a former student at Interlochen (attended on a scholarship as a bassoon player in 1967)
Over 13 years, donated more than $400,000 to the school, funded construction of an on-campus lodge, established a scholarship fund, and hosted alumni events
He once arranged his private jet to bring violinist Itzhak Perlman to Interlochen
From that lodge, with Ghislaine Maxwell, he met and recruited victims: a 13-year-old and a 14-year-old student at the summer arts camp in the mid-1990s
The 13-year-old testified at Maxwell's 2021 criminal trial about abuse that began at Interlochen
Epstein paid tuition for a young woman to attend Interlochen's year-round boarding school and offered to finance her conservatory education afterward
He was a Juilliard donor and used his professed love of classical music to lure young female students to his Upper East Side townhouse for "music theory lessons"
He purchased one of the most expensive cellos in the world for a young Israeli cellist
Leon Botstein, president of Bard College and conductor of The Orchestra Now, appears 2,500 times in the released Epstein files. Botstein received $150,000 in compensation for serving on the advisory board of Gratitude America, an Epstein foundation, as a music expert for one year. He said he donated it to Bard. Through Epstein's introduction, Bard received a $250,000 donation from billionaire Leon Black. Bard's board has hired a firm to investigate the relationship.

Sources: NPR (February/March 2026), Slippedisc, The Violin Channel, Inside Higher Ed, Irish Times, Rolling Stone.

17. Charles Dutoit — 10 Accusers, Zero Consequences

What he did: Sexually assaulted at least 10 women across decades. Orchestras kept booking him.

The record:

In December 2017, the Associated Press reported that four women accused Dutoit of sexual assault during rehearsals and performances in five cities: Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and Saratoga Springs
In January 2018, six more women came forward — four of them musicians — describing assaults in Montreal, Paris, and the United States between the late 1970s and early 2000s
One accuser reported that after being assaulted, she told the orchestra manager, who responded that they usually advised women not to enter Dutoit's dressing room unaccompanied, as there had been previous complaints
The orchestras of Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Cleveland, and Sydney broke ties with Dutoit
The BSO's investigation found the allegation against Dutoit "credible"
Despite all of this, Dutoit conducted the Orchestre National de France in February 2019 — approximately 14 months after the allegations became public
No criminal charges were ever filed
Total accusers: At least 10 women across multiple countries and decades

Sources: NPR, Associated Press, CBC, Billboard, Classic FM.

18. Daniele Gatti — The Concertgebouw's Two-Year Mistake

What he did: Sexually harassed musicians and students, was fired by the world's most prestigious orchestra, and returned to conducting within months.

The record:

Appointed Chief Conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in September 2016
In July 2018, the Washington Post published allegations from two sopranos: one described Gatti forcing himself on her after inviting her to his dressing room at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1996; the other described pushing him off during a run of Wagner in Bologna
After the Post article, additional Concertgebouw musicians came forward with their own experiences
The Concertgebouw fired Gatti within days — one of the swiftest institutional responses in classical music's #MeToo reckoning
Gatti denied all allegations
No criminal charges
He returned to conducting in Italy almost immediately — appointed to major Italian positions within months
The Concertgebouw was left without a chief conductor for years, eventually appointing Klaus Mäkelä — who then also withdrew, leaving them still searching

The speed of Gatti's firing was admirable. The speed of his rehabilitation was not. He was conducting in Italy before the Concertgebouw had finished mourning the relationship.

Sources: Washington Post, NPR, Classic FM, Billboard, Slippedisc.

The Pattern

Read the list again. What do these people have in common?

The People Who Failed Classical Music: A List of Names, Decisions, and Consequences — 40 Years of Institutional Destruction

1. Peter Gelb — General Manager, Metropolitan Opera (2006–present)

2. Susan Baker — Board Chair, New York City Opera

3. Chad Smith — President & CEO, Boston Symphony Orchestra (2023–present)

4. Barbara Hostetter — Board Chair, Boston Symphony Orchestra

5. Halbe Zijlstra — State Secretary for Culture, Netherlands (2010–2012)

6. Matthew Spivey — CEO, San Francisco Symphony

7. Nadine Dorries — Culture Secretary, United Kingdom (2021–2023)

8. Michael Henson — CEO, Minnesota Orchestra (2008–2014)

9. Mark Volpe — CEO, Boston Symphony Orchestra (1997–2021)

10. The Trump Administration — Proposed Elimination of the NEA (2025)

11. Allison Vulgamore — CEO, Philadelphia Orchestra (2006–2017)

12. The San Antonio Symphony Board (2021–2022)

13. James Johnson — CEO, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra

14. Richard Worley — Board Chairman, Philadelphia Orchestra (2011)

15. The Metropolitan Opera — The Levine Cover-Up (1979–2018)

16. Jeffrey Epstein — The Patron Who Used Music Schools to Hunt Children

17. Charles Dutoit — 10 Accusers, Zero Consequences

18. Daniele Gatti — The Concertgebouw's Two-Year Mistake

The Pattern

Comments

The People Who Failed Classical Music: A List of Names, Decisions, and Consequences — 40 Years of Institutional Destruction

1. Peter Gelb — General Manager, Metropolitan Opera (2006–present)

2. Susan Baker — Board Chair, New York City Opera

3. Chad Smith — President & CEO, Boston Symphony Orchestra (2023–present)

4. Barbara Hostetter — Board Chair, Boston Symphony Orchestra

5. Halbe Zijlstra — State Secretary for Culture, Netherlands (2010–2012)

6. Matthew Spivey — CEO, San Francisco Symphony

7. Nadine Dorries — Culture Secretary, United Kingdom (2021–2023)

8. Michael Henson — CEO, Minnesota Orchestra (2008–2014)

9. Mark Volpe — CEO, Boston Symphony Orchestra (1997–2021)

10. The Trump Administration — Proposed Elimination of the NEA (2025)

11. Allison Vulgamore — CEO, Philadelphia Orchestra (2006–2017)

12. The San Antonio Symphony Board (2021–2022)

13. James Johnson — CEO, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra

14. Richard Worley — Board Chairman, Philadelphia Orchestra (2011)

15. The Metropolitan Opera — The Levine Cover-Up (1979–2018)

16. Jeffrey Epstein — The Patron Who Used Music Schools to Hunt Children

17. Charles Dutoit — 10 Accusers, Zero Consequences

18. Daniele Gatti — The Concertgebouw's Two-Year Mistake

The Pattern

Comments