WhOA in perspective

[Dale]

This article in the New York Times (registration required) makes for interesting reading...and some perspective on the cost of high-end whistles.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/22/arts/ ... 2stri.html

[emmline]

That stinks. Having to lose their instruments, that is.
Still, as one of my local fiddle tweakers said to me, as I was tentatively handling some of the really lovely instruments he had fixed up, "They're just wooden boxes, nothing to be scared of."

[brianc]

Am I missing something, or does the article not say why they have to give up their instruments?

[fearfaoin]

Am I missing something, or does the article not say why they have to give up their instruments?

It does say, but not clearly. I had to reread it a couple of times to suss
out the story. The couple in question were part of a string quartet.
The quartet kicked out a member, and that member sued them. The
judge found for the kicked-out member, and charged the defendants
$600,000, which they didn't have. So, like OJ Simpson, they had to
give up their posessions to start paying off the judgement.

[brianc]

Am I missing something, or does the article not say why they have to give up their instruments?

It does say, but not clearly. I had to reread it a couple of times to suss
out the story. The couple in question were part of a string quartet.
The quartet kicked out a member, and that member sued them. The
judge found for the kicked-out member, and charged the defendants
$600,000, which they didn't have. So, like OJ Simpson, they had to
give up their posessions to start paying off the judgement.

I guess I wasn't ready to jump to that conclusion, but given that they'd bought the instruments using their house as collateral, then it would seem to make sense.

Lawyers.

I wonder why the 1st was kicked out?

[jsluder]

I wonder why the 1st was kicked out?

As I recall from a report on NPR, they had personality clashes and differences of opinion on the creative direction of the quartet.

[chas]

There are two conclusions I draw from this report. One, fiddles are overpriced. B, it's a far better thing to be a scientist for a living and a musician as a hobby than the other way 'round.

[rh]

from http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/3467.html

For Audubon String Quartet, a Painful Saga Nears Its End

By Ben Mattison
12 Dec 2005

The legal battle that tore apart the Audubon Quartet more than five years ago is nearing a final resolution, according to reports in the New York Times and the Roanoke Times.

Three members of the group, who have declared bankruptcy, will soon give up their instruments and homes in order to pay a $611,000 judgment to the fourth member, violinist David Ehrlich.

The quartet was founded in 1974 by cellist Clyde Shaw and three other musicians; within five years, it had won a series of competitions and been hired as quartet in residence at Virginia Tech. Violist Doris Lederer, Shaw's wife, joined in 1976; Ehrlich joined in 1984 as first violinist; and second violinist Akemi Takayama replaced Davis Salness in 1997.

Starting several years after Ehrlich's arrival, according to the both papers, conflicts began to develop between him and the other members of the group. In 2000, an argument over expenses led Ehrlich to request that the group go into counseling and to threaten legal action; days later, the other three members ejected him from the group.

Ehrlich filed suit against the remaining members, claiming that he had been fired without sufficient notice or cause, and obtained an injunction preventing them from performing as the Audubon Quartet. In late 2001, a Pennsylvania court ruled in Ehrlich's favor, awarding him $611,000 (the amount reflected, in part, a estimate of Ehrlich's share of the worth of the corporation that the quartet formed in 1979).

The judge also found that the remaining members could continue to perform as the Audubon Quartet, and they later replaced Ehrlich with violinist Ellen Jewett. But the group had already lost its position at Virginia Tech and has never returned to its former prominence "We're radioactive," Shaw told the New York Times.

[DanD]

There are two conclusions I draw from this report. One, fiddles are overpriced. B, it's a far better thing to be a scientist for a living and a musician as a hobby than the other way 'round.

In the group I play in (also a quartet), we all have Master's degrees in something besides music - which just means we are all smart enough not to try to make a living playing folk music

[Joseph E. Smith]

There are two conclusions I draw from this report. One, fiddles are overpriced. B, it's a far better thing to be a scientist for a living and a musician as a hobby than the other way 'round.

Been there, done that. I laughed, I cried, I fell down. It changed my life. Hell, I even bought the f*cking T-shirt.

[brianc]

from http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/3467.html

For Audubon String Quartet, a Painful Saga Nears Its End

By Ben Mattison
12 Dec 2005

The quartet was founded in 1974 by cellist Clyde Shaw and three other musicians; within five years, it had won a series of competitions and been hired as quartet in residence at Virginia Tech. Violist Doris Lederer, Shaw's wife, joined in 1976; Ehrlich joined in 1984 as first violinist; and second violinist Akemi Takayama replaced Davis Salness in 1997.

Starting several years after Ehrlich's arrival, according to the both papers, conflicts began to develop between him and the other members of the group. In 2000, an argument over expenses led Ehrlich to request that the group go into counseling and to threaten legal action; days later, the other three members ejected him from the group.

Ehrlich filed suit against the remaining members, claiming that he had been fired without sufficient notice or cause, and obtained an injunction preventing them from performing as the Audubon Quartet. In late 2001, a Pennsylvania court ruled in Ehrlich's favor, awarding him $611,000 (the amount reflected, in part, a estimate of Ehrlich's share of the worth of the corporation that the quartet formed in 1979).

The judge also found that the remaining members could continue to perform as the Audubon Quartet, and they later replaced Ehrlich with violinist Ellen Jewett. But the group had already lost its position at Virginia Tech and has never returned to its former prominence "We're radioactive," Shaw told the New York Times.

Thanks, RH. Very instructional.

Having read this account, there are two things I cannot understand.

1) How the judge found in favor of Ehrlich. He had to have been sleeping during testimony. (Don't laugh, it's happened in some major cases much bigger than this one).

2) How the defendants haven't appealed this decision. which is sheer lunacy.

[Wombat]

There is something decidedly odd about this ruling. How can one person's membership of a quartet be 'worth' more than the combined financial worth of the other three members?

If Erlich 'made' the group, surely he can join another group and the Erlicless group will suffer through his loss anyway. If, on the other hand, the group 'made' Erlich, this judgment seems to make them slaves to him. On pain of being made to pay crippling damages, they have to work with him whether they like it or not to maximise his earning capacity.

Am I missing something or is that how you read this verdict too?

[djm]

The article suggests that a formal business partnership had been established. This was probably the basis of the suit, and why he won it. What surprises me is that Ehrlick is still alive. If he'd been bumped off early in the proceedings the rest could have got on with their lives. Instead they have chosen to pay the victim's price.

djm