Has Boston just made it easier to sack a conductor?

This piece of evidently informed speculation comes from Zachary Woolf, chief music critic of the New York Times, in a review of the Boston Symphony’s visit to Carnegie Hall.

Woolfe concludes: This trip to Carnegie was the orchestra’s first with Chad Smith — long a forward-thinking programming leader at the adventurous Los Angeles Philharmonic, and now Boston’s chief executive. Midway through his first season, he’s beginning to lay the groundwork for the future.

Last week, the orchestra announced that Nelsons, after 10 years, would move to an unusual “evergreen, rolling contract.” Is this a sign of trust in a beloved partner? Or does it make it simpler for Smith to jettison Nelsons if a better option — a talented conductor in a more progressive mold — comes around?

The answer may well be both, and this Carnegie series gave ample evidence that Nelsons, for all his strengths, remains one of the most uneven top-rank maestros in music.