“The true and sometimes hateful soul of Aspen was laid bare this week,” writes Post blogger Michael Conniff, “when Aspen Music Festival president and CEO Alan Fletcher resigned suddenly after a series of disputes over everything from faculty layoffs to his inability to hug Bruce Berger every time he saw him outside the Benedict Music Tent. Why do I see this as Aspen at its worst? Because Fletcher, though shy and decidedly not warm and fuzzy, was the best thing to happen to the Music Fest since the late Robert Harth. He took an organization rent asunder by the departure of CEO Don Roth and lent it stability and grace–not to mention his artistic pedigree born of his skill as a contemporary composer. On top of that he was a terrific writer with much to say about music and its relationship to the world. He will be terribly missed, and I predict a time when patrons will look back on letting him go as a huge mistake.”