“The Cleveland Orchestra has suspended violinist William Preucil, its concertmaster of 23 years, ‘until further notice’ while opening an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment leveled at him,” write Anne Midgette and Peggy McGlone in Sunday’s (7/29) Washington Post. “ ‘The Cleveland Orchestra was not aware of the allegations reported by The Washington Post about William Preucil …,’ said the statement from André Gremillet, the orchestra’s executive director, released to the media on Friday afternoon. ‘We take this matter very seriously and will promptly conduct an independent investigation….’ ” On Saturday, Preucil resigned his teaching post at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he has been a longtime faculty member. The Washington Post article detailed descriptions by multiple female instrumentalists and vocalists of sexual harassment by Preucil and other figures in classical music. The article reported allegations from two women that conductor Daniele Gatti “attacked them in his dressing room during rehearsals.… In a statement sent to the media, Gatti said, ‘To all the women I have met in my entire life, especially those who believe I did not treat them with the utmost respect and dignity they certainly deserve, I sincerely apologize from the bottom of my heart.’ ”
Posted July 30, 2018
In photo: Cleveland Orchestra Concertmaster William Preucil
