The saddest string quartet
Last act? Violinist Ehrlich seeks ex-colleagues’ assets
The public breakup has generated much discord in the genteel world of chamber music.
By Kevin Kittredge
The Roanoke (Va.) Times
If this were a stage tragedy, we’d be watching the final scene, where members of the famed string quartet are forced to surrender their instruments to the violinist they once spurned.
But if this were a play, it would have been over long ago. Instead, the ugly drama of the Audubon Quartet and its former first violinist, David Ehrlich, is the drama that never ends.
Sometime in the next few weeks, barring last-minute developments, Audubon cellist Tom Shaw will surrender his cello and bow, each insured for about $60,000, to help pay a $611,000 court award to Ehrlich. Shaw’s w
Advertisement
ife, Audubon violist Doris Lederer, must likewise surrender her Italian-made instrument. The couple also expects to lose their snowblower, their lawn mower — and, oh yes, their house.
It is unclear if quartet violinist Akemi Takayama’s violin, which was bought by her grandparents and now is owned by her mother, is forfeit.
“Losing use of this violin would be devastating to me and to my family,” she said.
To Ehrlich, ejected from the group during a now-famous rehearsal in 2000, and his supporters, this is only justice — sad, but unavoidable, given the actions of the other three and the decision of the court.
“These people tried to destroy my life,” said Ehrlich, now a roving cultural ambassador for Virginia Tech. “The court has ruled one way, for me.”
His former colleagues see it differently. They fired Ehrlich, they say, only after he threatened to sue.
“The new cultural ambassador at Virginia Tech is seizing people’s properties who didn’t want to work with him,” said Lederer. She likened taking her viola to cutting off a limb.
“How are we supposed to make a living, for heaven’s sake?” said Shaw. “I’m hoping for a miracle.”
And so it goes. And goes. In the genteel world of chamber music, where changes of personnel usually occur behind a veil of silk, the public break between the Audubons and Ehrlich was unusual enough. What is stunning is that nearly six years later, the fighting continues.
Indeed, it may be getting worse.
In Blacksburg, those who have taken sides in the dispute still avoid one another, several said. They don’t go to the same concerts or even, apparently, the same stores. They seldom talk.
“I don’t hear much from the other side,” said Ehrlich supporter David de Wolf, a retired engineering professor. “My impression is the other side doesn’t consist of many people.”
Tech finance professor and Ehrlich friend Meir Schneller said the three Audubons, who now perform with new violinist Ellen Jewett, could have ended the matter long ago by settling with Ehrlich instead of dragging the matter on through the courts. (Attorneys’ fees for both sides are now believed to exceed $1 million.) “They took a certain course of action,” Schneller said. “They have to bear the consequences.”
Audubon supporters, including members of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra and the music department at Virginia Tech, are incensed at the prospect of Ehrlich liquidating the assets of his former colleagues.
“It’s been my opinion from the very beginning that everything he’s done has been in the spirit of revenge,” said Wallace Easter, a Tech music professor and the RSO’s principal hornist. “I think the reaction to the state of affairs is pretty much outrage.”
Former RSO cellist Lisa Liske-Doorandish is readying a petition asking Ehrlich to cease legal action. “It’s not OK for this to happen without everybody knowing about it,” she said of the seizures.
Ehrlich had no comment on the petition. He said he holds no grudge against the music department. “I still extend them a hand of friendship. I don’t take it personally. I think a lot of it is hearing everything from one side.”
RSO music director David Wiley declined to comment on the dispute. Takayama has been RSO concertmaster since 2004, and Wiley performed with the Audubons at Shaftman Performance Hall earlier this year.
Members of the Roanoke College-based Kandinsky Trio said last week they have taken a second look at the way they do business in the wake of the Audubon dispute.
“We have learned from them, as many chamber groups have, about how to structure ourselves so if someone does leave there can be no repercussions like this,” said Kandinsky cellist Alan Weinstein.
Kandinsky pianist Elizabeth Bachelder said she thought the judge’s decision was wrong. “It is a little disturbing, if this is creating a precedent.”
Some have urged Virginia Tech to step in. The Audubons and Ehrlich lost their jobs at Tech as a result of the dispute, though Ehrlich has been hired back. Shaw and Lederer now teach at Shenandoah University in Winchester. Aside from rehiring Ehrlich, however, the university has refused to get involved.
Tech spokesman Larry Hincker said President Charles Steger’s position has not changed: “The Audubon Quartet was a separate entity and they had issues. It wasn’t the university’s responsibility then nor is it now to try and mediate problems between them.”
Is there a silver lining in all of this?
Ehrlich supporter Michael Renardy, a Tech mathematics professor, said paying Ehrlich’s judgment could be a turning point.
“I think closure will be a turning point for the better because it will end the propaganda war. I wouldn’t say this will begin a healing process. At least it will be the end of circumstances that prevent the beginning of the healing process.”
Others are still hoping it won’t get that far.
“There are a lot of people, myself included, who want Mr. Ehrlich to leave Tom and Doris and Akemi alone. Just walk away,” said Jay Crone, a Tech music professor and trombonist.
Not likely, Ehrlich said. “I have no choice. I owe a fortune to my attorneys.”
Staff writer Lindsey Nair contributed to this report.
The public breakup has generated much discord in the genteel world of chamber music.
By Kevin Kittredge
The Roanoke (Va.) Times
If this were a stage tragedy, we’d be watching the final scene, where members of the famed string quartet are forced to surrender their instruments to the violinist they once spurned.
But if this were a play, it would have been over long ago. Instead, the ugly drama of the Audubon Quartet and its former first violinist, David Ehrlich, is the drama that never ends.
Sometime in the next few weeks, barring last-minute developments, Audubon cellist Tom Shaw will surrender his cello and bow, each insured for about $60,000, to help pay a $611,000 court award to Ehrlich. Shaw’s w
Advertisement
ife, Audubon violist Doris Lederer, must likewise surrender her Italian-made instrument. The couple also expects to lose their snowblower, their lawn mower — and, oh yes, their house.
It is unclear if quartet violinist Akemi Takayama’s violin, which was bought by her grandparents and now is owned by her mother, is forfeit.
“Losing use of this violin would be devastating to me and to my family,” she said.
To Ehrlich, ejected from the group during a now-famous rehearsal in 2000, and his supporters, this is only justice — sad, but unavoidable, given the actions of the other three and the decision of the court.
“These people tried to destroy my life,” said Ehrlich, now a roving cultural ambassador for Virginia Tech. “The court has ruled one way, for me.”
His former colleagues see it differently. They fired Ehrlich, they say, only after he threatened to sue.
“The new cultural ambassador at Virginia Tech is seizing people’s properties who didn’t want to work with him,” said Lederer. She likened taking her viola to cutting off a limb.
“How are we supposed to make a living, for heaven’s sake?” said Shaw. “I’m hoping for a miracle.”
And so it goes. And goes. In the genteel world of chamber music, where changes of personnel usually occur behind a veil of silk, the public break between the Audubons and Ehrlich was unusual enough. What is stunning is that nearly six years later, the fighting continues.
Indeed, it may be getting worse.
In Blacksburg, those who have taken sides in the dispute still avoid one another, several said. They don’t go to the same concerts or even, apparently, the same stores. They seldom talk.
“I don’t hear much from the other side,” said Ehrlich supporter David de Wolf, a retired engineering professor. “My impression is the other side doesn’t consist of many people.”
Tech finance professor and Ehrlich friend Meir Schneller said the three Audubons, who now perform with new violinist Ellen Jewett, could have ended the matter long ago by settling with Ehrlich instead of dragging the matter on through the courts. (Attorneys’ fees for both sides are now believed to exceed $1 million.) “They took a certain course of action,” Schneller said. “They have to bear the consequences.”
Audubon supporters, including members of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra and the music department at Virginia Tech, are incensed at the prospect of Ehrlich liquidating the assets of his former colleagues.
“It’s been my opinion from the very beginning that everything he’s done has been in the spirit of revenge,” said Wallace Easter, a Tech music professor and the RSO’s principal hornist. “I think the reaction to the state of affairs is pretty much outrage.”
Former RSO cellist Lisa Liske-Doorandish is readying a petition asking Ehrlich to cease legal action. “It’s not OK for this to happen without everybody knowing about it,” she said of the seizures.
Ehrlich had no comment on the petition. He said he holds no grudge against the music department. “I still extend them a hand of friendship. I don’t take it personally. I think a lot of it is hearing everything from one side.”
RSO music director David Wiley declined to comment on the dispute. Takayama has been RSO concertmaster since 2004, and Wiley performed with the Audubons at Shaftman Performance Hall earlier this year.
Members of the Roanoke College-based Kandinsky Trio said last week they have taken a second look at the way they do business in the wake of the Audubon dispute.
“We have learned from them, as many chamber groups have, about how to structure ourselves so if someone does leave there can be no repercussions like this,” said Kandinsky cellist Alan Weinstein.
Kandinsky pianist Elizabeth Bachelder said she thought the judge’s decision was wrong. “It is a little disturbing, if this is creating a precedent.”
Some have urged Virginia Tech to step in. The Audubons and Ehrlich lost their jobs at Tech as a result of the dispute, though Ehrlich has been hired back. Shaw and Lederer now teach at Shenandoah University in Winchester. Aside from rehiring Ehrlich, however, the university has refused to get involved.
Tech spokesman Larry Hincker said President Charles Steger’s position has not changed: “The Audubon Quartet was a separate entity and they had issues. It wasn’t the university’s responsibility then nor is it now to try and mediate problems between them.”
Is there a silver lining in all of this?
Ehrlich supporter Michael Renardy, a Tech mathematics professor, said paying Ehrlich’s judgment could be a turning point.
“I think closure will be a turning point for the better because it will end the propaganda war. I wouldn’t say this will begin a healing process. At least it will be the end of circumstances that prevent the beginning of the healing process.”
Others are still hoping it won’t get that far.
“There are a lot of people, myself included, who want Mr. Ehrlich to leave Tom and Doris and Akemi alone. Just walk away,” said Jay Crone, a Tech music professor and trombonist.
Not likely, Ehrlich said. “I have no choice. I owe a fortune to my attorneys.”
Staff writer Lindsey Nair contributed to this report.
Comment