Now Matthew Muckey files complaint against NY Phil
OrchestrasSome hours after* principal oboe Liang Wang sued the orchestra over his suspension, lawyers for associate principal trumpet Matthew Muckey issued a complaint in these terms:
Statement of Steven Hyman, Mathew Muckey’s lawyer
Matthew Muckey has filed this complaint with the sole purpose of returning to the job he loves and was born to do: Play the trumpet for the New York Philharmonic, a tenured position he secured in 2008. The actions taken by the Philharmonic and the Union in recent weeks are a clear violation of a binding arbitration award that restored him with regard to these false allegations. It is disgraceful that the Philharmonic has come back 14 years later, after Mr. Muckey has been investigated over and over again, in an attempt to rob him of a hard earned career and reputation. And it equally unacceptable that Mr.. Muckey’s union has likewise abandoned him notwithstanding the arbitration award they helped secure in his favor. It is time that both the Philharmonic and the Union respect the rule of law.
There is no indication of coordination between the two legal teams.
*UPDATE: We’ve heard from Muckey’s team: ‘Just for clarification we did file the lawsuit first’.
The definition of claiming privilige. “My client was born to play 1st trumpet in the NYPhilharmonic.”
It doesn’t exemplify a sense of privilege. It is merely a vivid expression of the idea that his talent fits him for the position. Quite possibly it does.
(NB: thinking you’re privileged doesn’t mean you *are* privileged, and thinking you’re entitled doesn’t mean you *are* entitled.)
Sounds like someone is confusing talent with privilege.
This is why you don’t have your lawyer write press releases.
coupled with what Wang said about himself in his press release: “He is separated from his fans”
Both are legends in their own minds.
(By the way, how many people asked for a refund when Wang’s Mozart concerto was cancelled? Those would be fans.)
In any case, nothing is separating Wang from his fans, nothing stops him from holding private concerts…
Too bad there are so few trumpet-oboe duets.
Trust me – he’s no Chris Martin.
And Chris Martin is no Phil Smith or Vince Penzarella.
And neither of them were Bud Herseth or Esteban Battalan or Maurice Murphy………
Those two have a healthy amount of respect for one another… up until the woke mob started cancelling anyone with a picture next to him.
Or Bud Herseth.
The article didn’t say 1st trumpet. Associate principal is not the first trumpet.
Well it is in some of the pieces an orchestra plays when “principal” is playing the other half of the program or is on a night off/vacation
“And it equally unacceptable that Mr.. Muckey’s union has likewise abandoned him notwithstanding the arbitration award they helped secure in his favor.”
As I wrote in a comment on the Wang post, the union itself is not bound by the findings of the earlier binding arbitration which is just between the Philharmonic and the two, so the union *can* relitigate the facts of that night as the basis for refusing to provide representation, and the Philharmonic can in turn piggyback on that litigation to use against the two.
Maybe it was a strategic mistake to sue the union, they don’t get much, just the legal costs which the two would recover from the Philharmonic anyway should they settle, which they will.
It’s only slightly convenient that the new union leader woman, who was APPOINTED, not elected, would take on a more favorable stance on a poorly written character assassination. She is obviously weak and is just doing what she is told by the union lawyer (Susan Davis).
Sara Cutler is a very smart and well educated musician who has chaired committes and sat on the union Executive Board for a number of years. I have faith that she will do what is right. Something her predecessor never seemed capable of.
As I wrote in the other post, the strategy is simply to obtain a settlement from the orchestra and union so Wang and Muckey can save face and get a pay day, which they’re likely to receive because nobody wants to go through depositions and discovery on this. No doubt that both the orchestra and union have highly embarrassing emails between senior leaders where the allegations of the women are dismissed or minimized.
The main way that I see this backfiring is in the court of public opinion. By suing both the union and orchestra, the media will frame this as the union and orchestra being united in wanting Wang and Muckey gone (which does seem to be the case), they’ll explain how unusual it is for these two groups to be in agreement on a termination, and that will lead many people to think that Wang and Muckey are in fact rapists.
The New York Philharmonic chose not to spend money the last time, negotiate and quietly bring back the perpetrators of the rape. Their reputation is now in tatters for playing possum. I would expect to repair the reputation, they actually will go for litigation in an attempt to purify the story, which will also drag Local 802 and their propensity to force organizations to bring back people who have done wrong. It will not do their reputation any good. I suspect neither musician will walk away with a golden parachute and instead will be permanently fired for cause now that the tawdry story has reached the public.
How does he imagine a sequel at Nphil? Or in another orchestra that matches his “ability from birth”? At the moment the best and only place for him seems to be the band in Mar a Lago! Possibly also in the White House in the coming presidency – o tempora o mores!
Let me guess! You’re a regular reader of the NYTimes! How did I Know that?
If I was being prosecuted for ANY crime, I wouldn’t have the large majority of SD readers on my jury. They were so easily manipulated by a tawdry article. Emotionally driven people can best be described as “the rabbel.” It’s always been this way for thousands of years.
As for the pusillanimous Gary Ginstling of the NYPO, it’s quite obvious he has no business being there.
One characteristic of the rabble is an inability to spell rabble.
“pusillanimous”
I’d never seen this word so I looked it up, and I want to thank you. I now have the means to call someone a pussy in a professional setting.
That IS where the term being a pussy comes from! Not from a more obvious but incorrect source.
They have been tried and convicted in the court of public opinion, a verdict not even Robert ‘God’s Viola’ Levine can arbitrate. Wouldn’t be surprised to eventually learn that these lawsuits were part of some kind of master plan to resolve this shit-show.
They’ll both have a major payday in the end. Without a legal case, there would be no settlement.
So who are the victims?
Kizer and Stewart, one who was raped, the other who selflessly stood by her. Those are the victims. Both were fired and the union did not stand up for them. By the way, this is a good reason to end tenure at the New York Philharmonic. Absolutely unecessary and all it does is make it harder to fire with cause.
Thank you, Mr. (or Ms. ) Obvious.
Just comparing the two statements, I’d say Liang has much better lawyers.
Yeah, most married women I know like to mess around on their period when their husband is on the way. Hope the see two get a taste of their own medicine soon in prison.
Yes and most women don’t stalk their “abuser” after and go around bars years after getting drunk and telling the fairytales of assault. You aren’t dealing with a normal individual here.
Google shows no “Jen Morrison” who has any connection to classical music or who would have any knowledge of the events in question.
He seems trustworthy and in possession of the highest moral standards……
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTAVF7bD6Jc
Now that’s creepy….”love project”…..
Maybe don’t rape people?
I do believe that in the USA you are afforded the status of innocent until proven guilty. With no charges or convictions you are just begging for a lawsuit.
You are wrong.
In the US criminal justice system, not in the US, is one afforded the status of innocent until proven guilty. Life is more than any judicial system. You don’t live your everyday life according to the rules of the judicial system, do you? Everytime you open your mouth, do you swear under oath everything you say is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Is every disagreement you have with family, friends, colleagues adjudicated by a judge and decided by a jury?
You are making what philosophers call a category mistake. And so are 75% of your fellow commenters here.
I would have hired a ‘soprano’ and run these 2 wise guys out of town, never to return.
Just saying!
It may not have resulted in his dismissal through arbitration, but sometimes actions do speak louder than words… particularly in this instance, when no words were actually spoken when provided an opportunity to do so. Hardly the actions of an innocent man, with an adverse inference, indeed.
“Kizer says Muckey attended her testimony, but he declined to speak at the hearing, citing his right against self-incrimination. The Philharmonic defended the dismissals, asking that Bloch draw the “strongest possible adverse inference” from his refusal to testify and “conclude that Muckey engaged in the serious misconduct.”
The utter lack of public support from any musician(s) in the orchestra (either anonymously or on the record) also speaks volumes.
Exactly who is going to jeopardize their careers to get involved? It is a very small world. Anonymity does not guarantee that no one knows.
Yuja Wang’s utter silence in support of her former boyfriend or her fellow countryman also speaks volumes.
No, it does not speak volumes. No person in his right mind would voluntarily step into this pile of shit.
Speak out and get attacked by the vicious cancel culture woke mob?
Neither of them will ever play with the NY Phil again. Their NY professional careers are over. They’ll be hard pressed to find any orchestra in this country that will take them.
An oboist of Wang’s caliber can pretty much get a job anywhere in the world. Apparently during his 1st suspension from the NYP he was making lots of money teaching in Bejing. And he isn’t a convicted sex criminal. Europe is much more laissez-faire about sex delicts than the USA.
I doubt it. No orchestra in Europe will hire a guy that was jury in the ARD and then suspended him.
Are you speaking for Berlin?
Your naive faith in Beijing is risible, if the Party wants to kill your career, they can kill it with a single sentence, if they want to embarrass you, they can do it with a single arrest for a crime of moral turpitude. Believe it or not, Wang has a lot more procedural protections in the US than he’d ever get in China. In China, one day you’re the favorite son, the next you’re public enemy #1 hauled off to write your confessions in a hard labor camp.
People really don’t get how big of a story this has become. What happens at the NYP is covered internationally. It’s not normal for the musicians and union to come out against one of their own. No western orchestra will put them on a stage. The blow back would be intense.
Worse comes to worse he winds up in a third rate orchestra in France……
The issue was settled years ago. Other than a tampon, theres no new information.
That’s not what I hear.
Of course these guys are going to contest and sue … it already worked for them once.
They didn’t sue, they used the union to restore their jobs with the contract that was in place at that time. The union no longer stands with them, so they have gone to this long shot lawsuit. They will not find a win in court.
Of course they will win in court. Ultimately, its a he said (consensual) she said (not) situation. No other cases have come forward against them that might show a pattern. Hear say means nothing in court. Courts are constrained by law and evidence. If the NYPhil is smart, they will reinstate them during the summer when no one is looking and offer a settlement for lost outside work.
The new investigation being conducted by the prestigious law firm Jenner & Block is working to turn up additional victims and evidence that will show a pattern. I’m told they have some, but that is only hearsay. Drug rapists seldom have just one victim.
The two former NY Philharmonic members who should be restored are Cara Kizer and Amanda Stewart. Muckey and the ill named Wang should find themselves in the dustbin of international orchestral performers who have brought shame to their profession. The men are now the equivalent of a metaphoric outhouse and no one in the Philharmonic wants to perform with them. Nor will they find orchestral opportunities anywhere in the world, or situations where parents would want them teaching their children.
Well, oh great imperious one, perhaps you should evaluate the available information before shooting off your mouth. There is, up to this point, no factual evidence to incriminate Mr. Wang in this matter. The Colorado police found DNA evidence on Mr. Muckey – but it’s not even clear that they pursued DNA evidence on Mr. Wang. We know that he was present at the beginning of the evening – but from that point on he disappears completely from the story.
Evidence: The alleged victim says Wang gave her the laced drink.