LENOX — A claim in a recent letter from Boston Symphony Orchestra Music Director Andris Nelsons’ management team to the orchestra’s Players Committee has drawn a strong denial from BSO President and CEO Chad Smith.

Boston Symphony Orchestra President and CEO Chad Smith, shown in a 2025 file photo, disputes a claim that the BSO had agreed in principle to extend Music Director Andris Nelsons’ contract beyond August 2027.

The letter, from Nelsons manager Karen McDonald of the international agency KD SCHMID, stated that the BSO had agreed in principle last fall to extend Nelsons’ contract beyond August 2027.

McDonald also said the orchestra never discussed a “quiet exit” with Nelsons and did not offer him a conductor emeritus role before trustees voted unanimously in February not to renew his “evergreen” contract beyond the 2027 Tanglewood season.

In a rebuttal provided to The Eagle on Friday, Smith said “there was no contract agreement reached — either in principle or otherwise — with Andris Nelsons at any point during his contract negotiations.”

Instead, documents obtained by The Eagle that trace a series of meetings indicate that negotiations had reached “a precarious state” by mid-January. The trustees voted the following month not to renew Nelsons’ contract. The decision was announced to the orchestra’s musicians, the media, donors and the public on March 6.

A note from BSO management to McDonald, managing director and president of KD SCHMID’s New York office, suggested that orchestra leaders were open to considering an honorary title for Nelsons for a defined period. One example cited was the music director laureate title awarded to Seiji Ozawa after he departed in 2003 following 29 years leading the orchestra.

There were also multiple meetings and emails between KDS and BSO management about the strategic plan between September 2024 and December 2025. In those, orchestra management stated that “we want to establish a positive relationship with Andris as a beloved guest conductor."

Smith has said the trustees decided not to renew Nelsons’ contract after Nelsons indicated that he was “not aligned” with the BSO leadership’s new strategic plan. The plan emphasizes more diverse programming and outreach to audiences that typically do not attend orchestra performances.

BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons conducts Mahler's Symphony No. 4 with Erin Morley during the orchestra's July 11 concert at Tanglewood.

Nelsons’ managers sent their letter to BSO musicians after the musicians sought an explanation for conflicting accounts of the decision not to renew his contract. The musicians were not involved in that decision.

According to McDonald, the BSO leadership’s version of events was “inaccurate and not a faithful reflection of the truth.”

A trustee told several musicians in April that Nelsons had declined an offer to serve as “conductor emeritus,” or under a similar title, along with a three-year contract extension.

Nelsons’ management team said no three-year guest-conducting role had been offered. The managers also said Nelsons had not been told that BSO leaders believed he opposed the new strategic plan.

“The decision to terminate at the end of August 2027 was presented as final,” McDonald wrote in the letter obtained by The Eagle. “Furthermore, we want to emphasize that, out of principle, any short-term alternative responsibility offered to Andris would not have been considered by him without being granted the opportunity for prior consultation with the BSO musicians.”

“Andris also stands by his original statement to the players regarding the timing of his departure,” McDonald wrote. “Contrary to reports given to the press, there were no discussions with Andris or us about an exit at any point, nor did we have any indication a termination was imminent prior to receiving communication of the Board of Trustees’ decision to terminate Andris’ position as Music Director.”

McDonald also told the musicians that “renewed terms of Andris’ Evergreen Agreement with the BSO beyond August 2027 had been agreed in principle by both parties and were in the process of being finalized in contractual form immediately prior to being informed of the Board of Trustees’ decision to terminate.”

The dispute has widened the rift between BSO leaders and many of the orchestra’s musicians, who support Nelsons. Musicians and other supporters have continued to call for his reinstatement, and many players and some audience members have worn red flower buttons at concerts as a show of support.

Smith, board Chair Barbara Hostetter and other BSO leaders have maintained that the decision to end Nelsons’ tenure in August 2027 is final and not open to further discussion.