Exclusive: Aspen drops Chicago concertmaster and wife
NewsWe understand that Laura Chen and her husband Robert have been removed from the Aspen Music Festival and School faculty after a number of parental complaints about comments made to students.
Robert Chen is concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He is presently on sick leave.
Laura Chen is former assistant concertmaster at the Boston Symphony. They are major-league players in the US.
We have run the information about their dismissal past the Aspen authorities. They confirm to slippedisc.com that the Chens ‘won’t be joining us summer 2025’.
Robert Chen bullied me (and many others) in AACA years ago. Can’t say I’m surprised to read this.
I had bad experiences as well when I was at school with him. Colleagues have as well, so this is no surprise. I will not go into details as he seems to have enough problems.
He bullied Muti into hiring his absentee daughter, so nothing surprising there.
Not an ounce of truth in that statement
I am an alumnus of the conducting program at Aspen and worked with both Robert and LPC during my time there. They could be tough teachers but they were also unbelievably good at what they do.
At one point, I desperately needed a bow rehair and I mentioned this to Laura to ask if she knew how long the wait would be to get in with the only luthier in town. She responded by saying “Robert and I can take it to her for you. She’ll get it done more quickly if it comes from us.”Robert brought it back to me the next day. I was a 21 year old student, nobody they needed to go out of their way for. This compassionate gesture wasn’t lost on me.
The world is not a nice place. The profession is not nice. It’s cut throat, people use and abuse power, and many people aren’t nice to you unless they have to be. I’m sorry if a few snowflakes couldn’t deal with a bit of “tough love” from one of the best violin couples in the world. Aspen will be worse off without them.
“This compassionate gesture”
commpassionate? it was a rank demonstration of power and privilege meant to impress, and it worked, it bought them your lifelong gratitude, and for what? a rehaired bow? you *were* a naive 21 year old.
meanshile, because the Chens skipped the line for you, some other professional musician who needed a rehair bow more than you didn’t get his in time.
You did indeed learn a valuable lesson in the dog-eat-dog world of classical music
Seems like you are wearing a hair-shirt.
I know none of the issues at hand but vadis response is quite harsh and contains alot of insinuation that are personal and disrespectful.
why do I smell that the Chens probably rehaired it for you themselves then charged you the luthier’s fees?
I mean, you never confirmed with the luthier, did you?
Oh, to be young and naive.
That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard
Very few professional string players even know how to rehair their own bow, let alone ones as successful as the Chen’s. Besides, I doubt that they would do all that work just to pocket maybe $40 after materials when Robert Chen makes mid/high six figures a year.
That’s good to hear. Best of luck to you.
Mr. Chen won’t sugar coat how things are. It is probably tough for students to hear certain realities, but if you want to make it to the top in this business, you gotta grow thick skin. Don’t know the details but they will miss one of the best concertmasters in the business.
I don’t know what it means to be “one of the best concertmasters”, but Chen played many violin concerti under Muti, and they were all academically correct, and nothing more, they would have been a good instructional video for a student learning that concerto for the first time.
Is that what being one of the best concertmaster is? Not to make a mistake, but also not to standout?
Fabio Bidini was also fired.
Two summers ago.
I would like to remind everyone that Robert’s daughter (violist) was fired from the CSO last year for cause, even while still on probation for tenure. She lied about asking for sick leave so she could go play a gig with her dad, then was dumb enough to post pictures from said gig on social media. This is the level. If Muti weren’t there he would’ve been gone a long time ago. He basically got his own daughter fired. Re teaching no one takes him seriously, and good for Aspen.
Worked with them both several times at Aspen and you cannot deny they are tough and have high expectations. It is even true that each year there is often 1 student who requests to be moved to a different orchestra because of the intensity.
But I would never call it “bullying”. They are incredible teachers and when they see you working hard to improve they really will work with you and be excited about your progress. They care about sending students into this tough industry prepared.
Very nice people in my experience and I’m sorry to see that this has occured
BS. bullying is a big red flag. Anyone who says but it was worth it is part of the bullying. Is it really so hard to be good at your job and not be a bully? So disgusted with this nonsense. Grow up everybody.
Speaking of the CSO, what a cheerful bunch! I hear they had ANOTHER no hire in the most recent cello audition. There are four openings. A third of the section! No one good enough for Santa Klaus? No one decent bothered to show up because everyone knows it’s a waste of time? It couldn’t be because there is currently an acute lack of good cellists because Philadelphia Orchestra just hired three, and we all know their standard for strings is higher. Is the CSO going to wait for the remaining members to retire and have an orchestra consisting entirely of subs?
Chen has a son who plays the cello; Muti is in town next week. Ask the committee to set up an audition presided by Muti and make him hire Chen’s son. Problem solved.
When it comes to kissing Muti’s boots, Chen is second to none at the CSO (though others were / are not behind, e.g., Esteban, Williamson, Mulchay, Lester, etc.). That paid off, as his daughter was hired (before she was fired).
Chen, arguably a mediocre concertmaster, is fully attuned to Muti’s modus operandi: unapologetic, brazen arrogance. However, whatever he has done in Colorado is probably nothing compared to the unacceptable conduct that Muti was allowed to keep for years with certain staff at Symphony Hall, conduct tolerated by both Alexander and the board of what is, let’s not forget, a non for profit organization that benefits from tax payer money.
“certain staff”? Let’s say “a specific female staff”.
Muti and the enabler Alexander should be investigated. But then again, by whom? The board? lol
Got to know these two a little while studying at the CCPA.
Are the Chen’s intense / bullies?
Absolutely, but justifiably so. To my surprise (and a twinge of terror), LPC liked my playing and was always professional with me. RC I didn’t interact with directly as much, but he too is professional and still approachable to a point.
Simply put… They and indeed many musicians are so critical because the industry is so critical. Years of practice to do auditions only to be dismissed less than 5 minutes into it can really leave a scar. So getting into a professional orchestra will inevitably be a negative feedback loop because your successful audition validates the toxic inner monologue, and uncages these thoughts and compels so many to project those toxic thoughts onto students.
Is this “right”? …. maybe. It’s complicated for sure. It’s right
as it serves the current culture of the professional music world, but is that a standard worth living with?
IMO … no. It’s gatekeeping at its finest. All musicians should really think on how the next generations of musicians will react to this kind of environment. Frankly, it turns people off to the otherwise beautiful world of music. The loss of orchestras are in part due to this kind of… crap.
Ultimately, the Chen’s aren’t teachers. They are more like consultants. Teachers need to be mindful of how we deliver information. Consultants don’t… they’re paid to be brutally honest because they are typically very good at what they do.
Lastly… the daughter being fired was hilarious! Her appointment to the viola section was bs. This kind of shenanigans is partly why Li-Kuo left his position.
Re the photo: the Gang of Four
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gang_of_Four
Your post is as racist as the behavior of your favorite conductor (remember the “chinaman” story?)
I played David Diamond’s string quartet No. 3 and Shostakovich quartet No. 3 with Robert last season. He was cordial, professional and played beautifully.
The CSO continues to make itself proud by the actions of his most notable representatives. And the Chen family is doubtlessly making a name for themselves.
Oh … in the meantime Muti is in Philadelphia where he can’t even sell out the Verdi’s requiem concerts propped up for his messianic return to the city.
But why should the audiences in Philadelphia buy tickets for another mummified boring Muti requiem when they can listen to great music all year long under the baton of Maestro Nézet-Séguin?
If only Yannick knew what Muti (often in the merry company of his friend Sachs) says about him behind his back … something not so fraternal … we doubt Muti would received in the City of Brotherly Love in the first place.
Bitches in classical music. Who knew?
I am so looking forward to the Verdi with Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra on Saturday. And very happy that I won’t need to watch out for any rat excrement, since it seems you won’t be attending.
Muti doesn’t care and neither do the Chen family… The Chens can PLAY their instruments. Maybe they were just trying to help the student out with their bow in Aspen; not showcase their importance. There are benefits to being excellent at what you do and he got to the front of the line! Also, can we STOP with all of the word “bully” being thrown around every which way…? People also need to learn to stick up for themselves as humans and not cry wolfe and “bully” every five minutes.
LPC has long been known to be verbally abusive during student rehearsals. It’s common knowledge among Aspen students. Can anyone defending bullying as “tough but effective teaching” give an example of any other workplace where such abuse would be tolerated?
Another example of bullying environment was in state ballet schools in Poland with a full-time 9-year program. I was there between 1979 and 88. The abuse still keeps me up at night. But in the recent years they got rid of the bullies ballet teachers and the tolerance of bullying students, especially the 10-15 year Olds, dropped significantly and the culture of teaching ballet is changing.
America is a role model for many countries and tough love should not be confused with bullying.
I don’t know the Chens but students complains had been most likely evaluated if they had to fire them.
A good example of tough love in training is the US armed forces where I also served 4 years. Yes, it was intense, but never personal or degrading. It was definitely not bullying. But, in the army it’s not about competition who is the best as an individual but it’s about working together. Kind of like an orchestra.
So why bully the musicians?
Everyone is going after Robert, but Laura is far worse.
Bully or Not a Bully. It’s Aspen’s dime, and therefore Aspen’s call. They can shape their organization however they so choose.
And they may believe that artistic sensitivity and interpersonal sensitivity are not mutually exclusive.
I worked with both of them at Aspen. They’re scary, they will tell you that what you’re doing is bad if that’s what they think…but it was always constructive. They always explained how you could do things better, and when you did they recognised this with positive feedback.
It’s not for me to say that other people’s experiences aren’t true. But what I experienced from them both as a student and an observer was certainly nothing that I could describe as bullying.
Someone should have told dear Robert his intonation was going bad before the CSO posted that mediocre clip of him playing the Mozart 4th concerto on social media a little while ago…
Students these days are coddled and told by their parents that they are “great” and “talented” from early childhood. In reality, they’re average. Most people are average by definition.
The Chens are above average at what they do. If they make demands on students that are similar to what they demanded from themselves, then by definition, they will be challenging the students to do better at every lesson. Improvement from week to week is important to the refined development of a potential music professional.
They seem to know what they are doing with proof being that their two children were accepted at the Curtis Institute.
Aspen can and certainly should run the Festival as is seen fit, but coddling students from supposed “bullying” which is really a synonym for a demanding teacher should not be the reason for letting such talented musicians go.
If my child was entering the orchestral profession, I would want teachers like the Chens to get them ready for auditions.
The ones that are sensitive to straight talk should train for another profession.
The Aspen festival wasn’t specific about the reason for letting them go. Parental complaints don’t always mean bullying, although that would be my first thought also. Maybe there is something else. The piano faculty who got fired didn’t bully anyone…
Students, especially at this level, know the difference between a demanding, exacting teaching vs. bullying, teachers who treat students with disrespect or even contempt. The latter can be felt even if the teacher is being “nice” on the outside. Students are more astute than you assume.
Great teachers have great students, average teachers have average students, as a rule. You seem to know a lot about average students.
Guido,
The proof of their excellent teaching is their two children getting into Curtis??? Really? Most of the students at Curtis don’t have musician parents. How do you know they are great teachers? How do you know that the students who might have had problems with them are average? How do you know they were snowflakes who couldn’t handle “straight talk”? How do you what the “rules” are? What makes you the expert? You sound like a narcissist.
The correct way is Guido d’Arezzo, or even Guido di Arezzo. Any average person would knows this.
Aspen is not just a festival but a school. There is a difference between high standards / tough love and bullying. Bullying of underage students is never acceptable. Glad to see Aspen taking this sort of thing seriously. I highly doubt they would have taken this action without justifiable cause – particularly given the individuals involved. No school wants to lose great teachers, but it seems like it was entirely necessary in this instance.
Exactly.
Guido de Arezzo,
Are you a teacher? You sound like one who has only average students. Since, as a rule, most people are average, you most likely are too.
Well to be honest, when I taught, I only taught my students above average candidates. Since I’m above average, I can only relate to above average people. Which is why I’m trying to decipher your comment. If I understand it correctly, you’re a bit jealous.
Most peasants, like you, will be teaching average students and taking their money while telling their parents how talented their children are.
And these are the kids who will howl about being “bullied” while using their free time playing video games on their phones instead of practicing.
Guido,
For your information, I don’t teach. I am a lawyer. And you are average, otherwise you wouldn’t writing such things. And no need to call others peasants. That shows more about you than anything else.
Kids are not dumb. They know the difference between bullying and tough love. And I never said anything about bullying in the first place.
Good luck in your teaching career.
Guido,
How do you know so much???? What’s with the assumptions?
We don’t know who you are, therefore the only person who thinks you are above average is yourself, and being above average doesn’t get you anywhere these days. I am sure you know. That’s why you are here!!!
“To be honest”…how does anyone know you are being honest? Haha.
Doesn’t matter what is thought of this couple. We. Don’t. Know.The. Circumstances. Read the article again– so most of these comments are unfounded unless it will be proven to be why the two of them were let go. Period.
I’ve only had positive experiences with the Chens. Yes, they’re tough, but their feedback was extremely helpful to me.
While we’re on the topic of CSO gossip, I heard from Chicago friends that two of the CSO violinists are dating. Apparently they weren’t hiding it at the recent Symphony Ball. I was pretty surprised about this because I thought the male violinist was married. Not anymore, I guess?
I knew Robert quite well in my younger days- Umm, he was a terrific fiddler, personality wise- like Ivan Chan- Not the kond type!(arrogant) but both were very good players. So u be the judge.