ArtsWatch

"In other words, is there a process or isn't there?" I think that is exactly the right issue to be discussing, but I think your article misses the key point: by reinstating Ms. Ni the Orchestra HAS created a precedential process - If you don't make tenure, then run to your lawyer du jour.

Essentially, what the Orchestra has told everyone that will ever audition for them in the future is that if their playing / leadership skills cannot secure tenure, a lawsuit will. Do we want to change the cliche to "How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Hire a lawyer!" I don't think that we do.

You note that a small group of disgruntled players were the driving force behind her reinstatement. If that is the case, I wonder whether they have considered the longer-term consequences of their actions, i.e. opening the door for every player to challenge every tenure decision, undercutting the authority of the Maestro and the tenure committee, and putting Ms. Ni in an impossible position where if she makes tenure people will question whether she deserves it, and if she does not people will regret the wasted year when a real principal search could have taken place.

I think you have touched upon fascinating issues in this article: the changes in the tenure process, the "small cabals making large noises" , and the long term ramifications of allowing one person to sue her way into a second chance. These are all issues that are deserving of investigation and explanation.

The Master Contracts for most orchestras permit grievances to be filed in case of denial of tenure, but only because of procedural violations. I don't know the details of the Philadelphia Orch.'s policy, but normally these procedures are quite detailed, with dates, deadlines, confirmations required in writing, follow-up meetings, etc., all very carefully spelled out. There is no industry-wide boilerplate language that must be used, but there is a generally accepted industry-wide standard for how clearly the probation/tenure process should be handled.

What the article doesn't tell us (and a lawsuit might have made public, not that that would necessarily have been a good thing) is whether there was a procedural violation of whatever rules this orchestra has, or whether it was indeed a case of "small cabals making large noises" overriding the system on behalf of a popular colleague.

As a retired professional string player with major symphony, opera and commercial recording experience, I can attest to Ms. Ni's beautiful cello playing, having heard her on numerous occasions in NY. Her ten years' experience as NY Philharmonic associate principal cellist, often filling in as principal, and her many appearances on the Philharmonic Chamber Series speak for itself. BTW, we do not know each other.

The so-called "cabal" may not necessarily refer to those wanting her to remain, but to a group who stand to gain by her leaving.

This is an interesting situation, especially coming in Eschenbach's last season as music director. Whatever the fallout from this (because some people are obviously going to be unhappy either way), he won't actually have to deal with it.

I attend Orchestra concerts quite frequently, and last season is not a standout in my memory. Nothing in Hai-Ye's playing ever struck me as better than a half dozen other cellists I can think of, and I don't find her overly pleasant to watch. Maybe I was just at the wrong concerts.

But even if I was unlucky in my concert selections and she is an exceptional musician, it doesn't necessarily mean she's a also good section leader, which is as much a part of the job as putting a bow to strings. The cello section seemed particularly sloppy last season, with missed notes, tempo problems, and a general air of struggling with...something. Sections, and indeed the whole orchestra, can and do have off nights, but that should be the exception and not the rule. It will be interesting to see if they tighten up this season.

I also find her decision to resign from New York before getting tenure in Philly pretty shortsighted. She's not some kid fresh out of a conservatory, and is experienced enough to know that nothing is set in stone until the final tenure decision. Maybe she was hedging her bets and basing her decision not only on that letter, but on the fact that, unlike some orchestras, virtually everyone gets tenure in Philly. All of the other new players last season did. And therefore, for her to be denied must mean that something was very wrong.

I do wish her the best this season, and I'm willing to change my mind if she proves worthy. I'm not a professional musician or a critic, just a classical music fan, so my observations might be off-base anyway. But either way, her predicament is pretty unfortunate and I'm afraid that even if she wins, she still loses. Which is really a shame.

There's a misconception here surrounding Ms. Ni's giving notice to the NY Philharmonic. She did so on their timeline, not on hers. In other words, she gave notice when it was required because the Philharmonic needed to set a process in motion to fill the chair she vacated. That seat is now filled.

As a subscriber, I hear the Philadelphia Orchestra in Carnegie Hall every season. Sloppiness in attack can be laid at the feet of the conductor, as any professional knows. The orchestra didn't seem to have trouble playing together under Rattle. I doubt that an amateur can pick out any "missed notes" in a whole section of instruments playing in unison. Further, one listens to music more with the ears than the eyes.

Actually, I am not sure Mr. Comins is correct about the timing of Ms. Ni's notice to NY. As Mr. Dobrin noted in a July 6th blog post on ArtsWatch:

"Montone has given up her principal horn spot in the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra after hedging bets and splitting time between the two ensembles for a season. But Ni - who started training in her native Shanghai, eventually moving on to an obscure conservatory in New York called the Juilliard School – resigned from the New York Phil in December, a Philharmonic spokesman said."

My reading of that is that Ms. Ni did have other options, such as splitting time between the two orchestras for a season. As K.Robinson noted, her decision to resign from NY, even if bolstered by favorable early returns, was still a poor decision for her long-term job security. I would hate to think that the Philadelphia Orceshtra's decision to reconsider Ms. Ni's status was due to sympathy over her job status rather than her playing and leadership ability.

With that said, the issue here is not Ms. Ni's musical ability. Clearly Ms. Ni would not have been considered for the position were she not a talented cellist, and I do not think that any of the comments here suggest that she is unable, musically, to play with this Orchestra. I disagree with Mr. Comins' premise that an "amateur" is unable to evaluate the quality of music in a given performance, and I also disagree that musical ability is the sole factor in the tenure decision process. As noted in other comments, the abiilty to lead the section is an important factor and none of us, with the exception of Mr. Dobrin, are privy to her leadership abilities during the rehearsal process.

At the end of day the reasons why Ms. Ni did not receive tenure are not important. What is important, and what future discussion should focus on, is whether the tenure decision process was altered or circumvented at the behest of special interests. While we may never find out the answer to that question, I agree 100% with K.Robinson's comment that even if Ms. Ni wins, she still loses.

Comparing the St. Louis SO's contractual notification requirement to the NY Phil's is like comparing apples to oranges. Ms. Montone had the luxury of playing for two orchestras in the same season that Ms. Ni didn't have. I repeat: Ms. Ni was REQUIRED to give notification when she did.

Having heard all the Philadelphia Orchestra's principal cellists going back to Samuel Mayes in the 1940s, I personally think the orchestra loses if Ms. Ni doesn't get tenure. As a player, she's the equal to any of them. Further, anyone who thinks the audition and tenure process is without internal politics lives in an alternate universe.