Where Is the Ms. in Maestro?

In part that is because it has come to seem a retrospective art form, with virtually all of its "greatest hits" written by male composers who are long dead. The last truly popular piece to enter the symphonic repertory was Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring," composed in 1944. For most of its history, classical music has been a man's world.

"The idea of a woman managing the performance of music remains anathema even in societies where women have achieved the highest office," the British critic Norman Lebrecht observed in his book "The Maestro Myth" (1991). "Committee wives in Middle America are said to abhor the notion of a female incumbent, while male commuters want the symphonies they hear while driving to work to be conducted by one of their own. Whether they act tough or soft, women conductors have been given a hard time by male-dominated orchestras."

But things have begun to improve somewhat in the past couple of decades. Attempts to reach Alsop at her New York apartment and on her cell phone have been unsuccessful; her management said that she would have no comment until after today's board meeting. But in the past, she has regularly startled interviewers with her opinion that, if anything, the fact that she is a woman had helped her career.

"In America, at least, I've found very little resistance to the idea of a woman conductor," she said in 1990. "It's still unusual enough that the orchestra might even get some publicity for engaging me." She has made other similar statements over the years.

Falletta concurs. "I've never felt any discrimination in the United States," she said yesterday. "Twenty years ago, at the beginning of my career, I'd find a certain coolness in other countries -- especially in Germany -- but even that has gotten a lot better. If anything, I'd say that there is more prejudice against American conductors in general, whether they are male or female. We're still sometimes treated as second-raters -- and that goes on here as well as in Europe, I'm sorry to say."

It is probable that a new generation of female conductors will arrive -- certainly, there are plentiful candidates now studying in conservatories. Young musicians growing up today no longer face the prejudices that were once accepted as a matter of course, and much of this is due to the example of artists such as Marin Alsop.

The BSO musicians' request that the search for a conductor continue did not mention Alsop's name, nor did it raise specific concerns about her qualifications for the job. But a letter dated April 21 from Anthony S. Brandon, a board member who has been outspoken in his opposition to Alsop's appointment, to Philip English, the chairman of the BSO board, is specific. It was drafted with the help of other board members, with input from a number of musicians, and copies have circulated freely in circles close to the BSO. English has previously refused to comment on the appointment and he did not return calls yesterday afternoon.

"The overriding justification for eliminating Alsop is that 90 percent of the BSO musicians oppose her appointment," the letter states. "In her appearances with the orchestra, the players say, Alsop has not produced inspired and nuanced performances of standard classical repertory. They cite 'dull,' even 'substandard,' performances of Brahms's Symphony No. 3, Mendelssohn's music for 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 2.

"They say that she either does not hear problems or -- because her technical limitations prevent her from fixing them -- that she ignores them. Her musical sense is inhibited by her own lack of depth as a musician and she becomes frustrated when what she hears in her head does not come out from the players. Upon finding something wanting in rehearsal, she responds with vagaries such as 'I'm not feeling it' (Mendelssohn's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream') or exhorts them with abstractions such as 'make magic' (Brahms's Symphony No. 3).

"When an orchestra believes it is being pushed by unmusical ideas, tempos and phrasing and being told that the orchestra itself lacks imagination, musicians feel they are dealing with a conductor who lacks ideas, conviction and technical skill."

The current music director, Yuri Temirkanov, steps down at the end of the 2005-06 season. So, whether it is Alsop or someone else, the BSO must find a conductor soon.