Slipped Disc editorial: Atlanta, after the axeman, must dig deep to make peace

The circumstances of Stanley Romanstein’s departure are becoming clearer by the minute.

Sources close to the dispute tell Slipped Disc that he was fired a week ago after the board perceived his weakness. Why he was allowed to hang around is uncertain, perhaps a sign of divisions within the board. More heads may yet have to roll.

Either way, the heat is now on the board and on the controlling Woodruff Arts Center, whose president, Vrginia Hepner, needs to explain why she diverted millions in funds away from the struggling orchestra.

At issue now is  question of will. Does Atlanta want a front-rank orchestra? If so, it needs to invest in extra musicians and qualified management. No more half-baked doctors of irrelevance from a low-budget sidelie. Atlanta, like Minnesota before it, must call in a tried-and-tested administrator to make peace and start over.