The resignation comes four days before de Waart's first concert, and as the Philharmonic appears to be entering a period of calm after a long stretch of turmoil that started when Samuel Wong was hired as music director in 1999. Wong fired several musicians, and his heavy-handed style prompted the resignation of a number of others. In 2002, the orchestra announced that it would not renew his contract; two months later, however, after a board shakeup, he was rehired as principal conductor.