Ex-Shanghai Quartet violinist sues former colleagues for unfair dismissal

ALL CHANGE: Two of the world’s leading female violinists have been granted the use of ‘golden period’ Stradivari violins. Norwegian soloist Eldbjorg Hemsing is now playing the 1707 ‘Rivaz, Baron Gutmann’ Stradivari violin, owned by the Dextra Musica foundation. Its most recent player, Janine Jansen, has been gifted the use of the 1715 ‘Rode, Duke of Cambridge’ Stradivari, courtesy of a European benefactor. The ‘Rode’ was formerly the principal performing instrument of the US Violinist Oscar Shumsky, and described by him as ‘not only a Stradivari but one of the finest examples I have seen’. Meanwhile, the ‘Rivaz’ is one of the twelve Dextra Musica instruments to feature in The Strad Calendar 2021. Jansen photo: Marco Borggreve

Chinese violinist Yi-Wen Jiang (below left) is suing his former Shanghai Quartet colleagues and Montclair State University in New Jersey, where the quartet is resident, for unfair dismissal.

In March this year, Jiang posted a comment on the Chinese social media platform WeChat in response to a post by SanFrancisco Symphony associate principal viola Yun Jie Liu. Jiang’s comment, which went viral, was denounced by some Chinese media outlets as ‘racist’ and led to a parting of the ways between Jiang and his fellow Shanghai Quartet members.

Following the incident, the Shanghai Quartet published a statement on its website and Facebook page: ‘E.ective immediately, the Shanghai Quartet has accepted the resignation of violinist Yi-Wen Jiang. We begin the search for his replacement and look forward to sharing the next chapter ofcommunity and music with you soon.’

China’s Global Times and Beijing Daily subsequently reported that the Tianjin Juilliard School, where the Shanghai Quartet is a member of the faculty, had terminated his contract. .ese outlets also reported that Jiang had apologised to the Chinese people for his post.

However, Jiang’s lawsuit, .led in Morris Superior Court, claims that the Shanghai Quartet and Montclair State University forced him to resign, following a targeted propaganda campaign by the Chinese government. He is seeking damages of $500,000, equivalent to the cost of a 25 per cent share in the group.

The Shanghai Quartet has responded to the lawsuit with thefollowing statement: ‘In March, the Shanghai Quartet collectively accepted the voluntary resignation of violinist Yi-Wen Jiang. .en as now, we regret that our former member, Mr Jiang, has chosen, through his words and actions to put the reputation and success of the Shanghai Quartet at risk. .e lawsuit is without merit and fanciful. Our audience is important to us, and enjoying deep musical experiences with them is our priority and focus. We look forward to continuing to share music with our fans around the world, and we thank them for their continuing support.’