“Charles Dutoit succeeds Daniele Gatti, who steps down as the orchestra’s music director when his contract expires in the summer of 2009. The position has an illustrious pedigree: the list of the Royal Philharmonic’s previous principal conductors includes Thomas Beecham (who founded the orchestra), Rudolf Kempe, Antal Doráti, Walter Weller, André Previn and Vladimir Ashkenazy.”