Sexist behavior by the New York Philharmonic goes to court
Violinist Dropped by Philharmonic Goes to Court
By DANIEL J. WAKIN
Published: July 22, 2005
For Anton Polezhayev, a promising violinist with a few midlevel competition victories under his belt, winning a coveted seat at the New York Philharmonic at the tender age of 26 was deeply fulfilling.
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Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times
Anton Polezhayev accuses the New York Philharmonic of giving preference to women.
But, he says, as the months of his probationary period went on, he watched a parade of seven violinists win permanent jobs or march past him in the section. They all had one thing in common: they were women.
And one day, orchestra officials abruptly told Mr. Polezhayev to pack up his violin and leave after the 2003-4 season. He had failed his probation despite, he says, strong reviews of his playing.
So Mr. Polezhayev, now 29, did something rare in the seemingly genteel world of classical music. He sued, charging the Philharmonic with sex discrimination in denying him a job and accusing it of a pattern of preferring female violinists.
He named as defendants the orchestra; Carl R. Schiebler, the personnel manager; Glen Dicterow, the concertmaster; and Lorin Maazel, the music director. He is demanding a permanent job, back pay and unspecified damages. Whatever the merits of his case, the matter sheds light on the internal dynamics of a world-class orchestra.
The lawsuit was filed yesterday in State Supreme Court in Manhattan just as the orchestra was arriving in Colorado for its annual concerts at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival.
Philharmonic officials declined to discuss the case, saying they could not comment on a pending legal matter.
But Fiona Simon, the chairwoman of the orchestra committee, which represents the musicians and was involved in the decision along with other members of the string section, scoffed at the notion that Mr. Polezhayev's sex had anything to do with it.
"He didn't get tenure because he wasn't doing his job," Ms. Simon said. "None of the rest of it is in the least bit relevant." Ms. Simon, a violinist, said that women received no preferential treatment at the Philharmonic.
Other orchestra administrators, without knowledge of the specifics, said they had never heard of such allegations.
"I just think it's about having the chops," said Rita Shapiro, the executive director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington and a 20-year veteran of orchestra administration. "You'll get the job if you're good. I think gender is immaterial."
She added, "It's not even the culture in our business to differentiate whether the person is a female or a male player."
Violin sections in American orchestras generally have the largest proportion of women, especially at the Philharmonic, where 20 out of 33 violinists are women, according to the orchestra's Web site.
Filing such a lawsuit in the close-knit world of top American symphony orchestras would seem an efficient way to incinerate a career. Mr. Polezhayev said in an interview that he would have been blackballed in the future anyway for failing to pass probation. Several orchestra administrators said, however, that failing to get tenure was relatively unusual and did not necessarily mean that all hope of a future job was lost.
"They are damaging my career and embarrassing me in front of my colleagues and pretty much putting a black mark on me forever," Mr. Polezhayev said. "At this point, I feel it's more important to stand up and do something about it."
Mr. Polezhayev joined the second-violin section in September 2002. In informal conversations during the spring of 2003, he said, Mr. Dicterow told him there was no problem with his playing, and Mr. Schiebler said his work was "perfect." But the following February, he was fired with no explanation, Mr. Polezhayev said.
The lawsuit said his complaints about "discriminatory practices" might have helped motivate his firing.
"Everybody says Anton is incredibly talented," said his lawyer, Lenard Leeds. "We can't figure out the reason why the Philharmonic won't give him tenure, except for gender discrimination."
Mr. Polezhayev was born in Leningrad. He emigrated with his parents - both musicians - in 1990, and lives with them in Sea Cliff, N.Y. He studied at the Manhattan School of Music and played in the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra before joining the Philharmonic. He took part in several competitions, winning the Grand Prix International Violin Competition of Pierre Lantier in Paris and taking fifth place in the Paganini International Violin Competition in Genoa.
Mr. Polezhayev has shown an ambitious, and savvy, edge. In a January 2004 article in The New York Times, about a month before he was denied tenure, he was quoted as saying that he wanted "to keep moving - to a first violin chair up front, a principal, first chair, maybe even concertmaster." He said that winning competitions was "excellent for publicity."
Some wind players complained that he once acted rudely in turning to look at them during a moment of bad intonation, but Mr. Polezhayev dismissed the story, saying it was untrue and spread by a few malicious opponents.
Amy, any comments?
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