About 20 years ago during a morning rehearsal, the solo violinist stopped playing during the Dvorak Romance, Op.11. "Anyone with half the brain of a mouse would know better [than to make that mistake]," he declared. The conductor was embarrassed and a violist burst into tears. I think the soloist was referring to my brain, then in the flute section and a little foggy after an after-concert party the night before. I am still not aware of what the mistake was.
Just recently, that violinist lost his concertmaster's position in a major orchestra because of well-founded evidence of sexual assaults. Having known him and his family for years, I decided to learn more about the problem.
Sexual assault in the classical music world is a specific example of a larger problem, in part because of the way students and teachers interact. The music studio is one of a few situations in contemporary life where an older and more powerful mentor is regularly cocooned alone with a younger and less powerful mentee whose future career depends heavily on the mentor. Regular encounters are not in a classroom, but in an enclosed, isolated space, one on one.
The teaching studio at The Eastman School where I spent about 140 hours over four years alone with my teacher was a large sound-proof room with a cork-tiled floor, two windows facing a building next door, and a high ceiling. It was at the end of a short hall that also led to the horn and oboe studios. The doors were made of thick, heavy wood. Each had a small window of glass at eye level through which an outsider could see only a segment of the room. The flute's high register could penetrate the door but voices could not. Each student awaited their lesson on a bench in the hall. When the door opened, a student came out and another went in. Only recently have I begun to imagine that for some students studying with a potential predator, sitting in a hall like that could arouse the same terror as waiting to enter an extreme fighting cage.
My flute class numbered about 25, most of them women. It never occurred to me then that anything might happen in that studio, beyond music lessons. That assumption still seems correct. Joseph Mariano had taught at Eastman for decades and had an untarnished reputation, free of even the slightest suspicion. I learned that a teacher-student relationship can change, becoming more informal or casual and more equal as a student improves. Often it blossoms into a lifelong friendship. Romance has also been known to bloom, and as it does, the concept of consent may also blur. I learned of marriages between students, mostly female, and their older teachers. I have wondered, especially because of age differences, whether friendship might have been the better option, at least in some cases.
Sexual assault has little to do with romance or love. The act is a power transaction requiring non-consensual submission of the weaker to the stronger—financially, physically, professionally, etc.—of a pair. The act causes an abrupt change in the nature of the relationship, not usually in the direction it often did in old movies—leading to marriage and happiness ever after.
Again, in the classical-music world, there is another specific difference. We have, belatedly, learned, acknowledged, and accepted that the act can cause a drastic alteration of the life of a non-consenting victim, usually for the worse, even to leading to a lifelong impairment. Less acknowledged, so far, have been the effects of sexual assault on the assailant and on our culture at large. It can remove from the world stage a celebrated concertmaster, conductor, or soloist; deny a generation of students access to an eminent teacher; and terminate careers that have been the products of years of arduous study and practice. The size of instrumental classes at universities and conservatories depends largely on the reputation of the teachers of each instrument. Abrupt departures of teachers can suddenly disrupt career plans and music departments. In this case under discussion, the effects on three generations of a large family of accomplished musicians and teachers will be incalculable.
What would have been the consequence, for example, if the 21-year-old Robert Schumann's affections toward the 13-year-old Clara not been returned? I am not asserting that sexual assault did happen, but you should get my point. In the great arc of human history, one less linebacker or quarterback in the NFL (or early retirement of a CEO) is one thing; erasing a contemporary Robert Schumann or Beethoven (who made more than one clumsy sexual advances) from history at the peak of their productive years would be another. Or contemplate how different our nation's history might have been if we convicted Thomas Jefferson for his affair with Sally Hemmings, a juvenile 30 years younger.
Perhaps if we better understood this problem we might eventually develop better ways of dealing with it. Sexual assault is unquestionably a criminal act. The repetitive behavior of most assailants testifies to the reality that shame alone may not be a sufficient deterrent or punishment. But imprisonment, or ruination of lives by the loss of a position achieved through talent and extraordinary effort, could be also be considered an impoverished response, especially when an assailant has already, and could again, contribute to society. We have no way of knowing how many assaults have been deterred by the threat of severe penalties, the possibility of which is only a recent development. I understand those who insist that all criminals should stand accountable, but I also acknowledge that we all have fallibilities and perhaps some assailants, not to mention society at large, would appreciate some help in overcoming them. If more creative rehabilitative responses exist, I am not familiar with them, perhaps because the problem has been in the spotlight only for a few years. I am only trying to frame the problem here. We may eventually learn how will this assailant's family responds.
What prevents any older man, me for example, from acting on primal impulses when he sees an attractive, even possibly provocative, younger woman? The best answer may be what we call cultural mores. They provide structure, or informal rules, guiding the determination of the differences between right and wrong behavior. These are more than folkways and become increasingly important and expected the more a culture develops. Like honesty, ethical behavior, and courtesy, they govern behavior in developed societies. They differentiate more from less developed cultures, those like tribal Afghanistan where old men marry pre-pubescent girls. Some, like speed limits through a dense neighborhood, become encoded into laws. But others are learned, taught, and embedded in a culture. That the slogan, "Lock her up!" became a mantra in our recent Presidential campaign is only one recent indication that our culture may be backsliding from civilized development.
It is tempting to consider the loss of behavioral control by sexual assailants as a medical or mental health problem, similar to drug and alcohol addiction. Though addiction initially may be a moral failure of control (though not when an opioid is prescribed first), because of the conscious decision to take the first dose, addiction can transition into a biological need beyond the control of the addict. Medical and pharmacological therapy may succeed. Science continues to advance our understanding of biologic causes, genetic as well as environmental, for other biologically-based conditions that affect behavior, like schizophrenia or bipolar disease. The same may happen with developmental problems like autism, dyslexia, and attention/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
For understanding the problem of sexual assault now, however, it seems reasonable to relegate it to the large and messy category of conditions labeled as "personality disorders." In the 19thcentury, these disorders were lumped together under terms like "moral insanity," or "psychopathic personality," then eventually broadened to include cases who actually "suffer from their abnormality." After more decades of observations and psychological studies, and as a way to try to understand them by finding order and relationships among them, we now separate them into ten personality disorders, (PD). To be clear, this is just a concept that enables us to think about a broad problem, not a discovery based upon any biologic causes–though evidence of a genetic vulnerability may be may be forthcoming.
Every human has a personality that can be generally characterized by combining a limited set of basic descriptive terms. The DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) lists a total of ten disorders of personality: paranoid, schizoid, narcissistic, anxious, avoidance, dependence, obsessive-compulsive, borderline, antisocial, and schizotypal. Those are names of categories each requiring a longer description to fully characterize (see below for examples). Most of us exhibit a trace (or more) of a mixture of these qualities, or traits, that characterize our personality. There is wide variability and some blur into others. Those that predominate may determine how close friends and family would describe each of us to others.
These ten qualities tend to cluster together in three basic clusters. (A living catalog of cluster B—antisocial, borderline, histrionic, narcissistic—currently occupies the White House). Originally, all of the traits were clustered together in a large "antisocial" category, but after the more recent parsing, the antisocial category has become more specific. It remains the one most likely to lead to criminal activity. When one or more of these qualities predominates far above the others, becomes a signature behavior recognized by others, causes suffering of the victim, and determines the direction of a life, it crosses the border into a disorder. Likewise, when one category, usually the antisocial one, leads to criminal acts, it becomes definitely a personality disorder.
In contrast to an increasing number of mental disorders, like bipolar and schizophrenic diseases, personality disorders are very difficult to treat. Once established before adulthood, personalities, as you might expect, are virtually hardwired and resistant to change. (Increasingly so as we age as Paul Krugman writes, "when we get older, we become more like ourselves.")
Two types of personality disorders (PD) stand out for discussion here. Personalities in the antisocial group, quoting Neel Burton, MD, are". . . much more common[ly] . . . men than . . . women," and are ". . . characterized by a callous unconcern for the feelings of others. The person disregards social rules and obligations, is irritable and aggressive, acts impulsively, lacks guilt, and fails to learn from experience. In many cases, he has no difficulty finding relationships — and can even appear superficially charming (the so-called "charming psychopath") — but these relationships are usually fiery, turbulent, and short-lived. . . . antisocial PD is the mental disorder most closely correlated with crime. . . . ."
That, of course, describes the full-blown picture of antisocial personality disorder. Most people with antisocial PD have only parts of the full picture. They, friends, and casual acquaintances may be oblivious, at least most of the time, to their problem.—until an assault or some other striking manifestation.
Antisocial PD seems to be particularly endemic among orchestra conductors, perhaps because they command more power than the average player. Among several imperious ones within that species, the great George Szell comes to mind. Though highly respected, he was feared and reviled by almost all of his players in the Cleveland Orchestra for his tendency to humiliate or shame them and even fire them on the spot. (Such impulse firing has largely become illegal in our era.) The medical community in Cleveland learned to expect a surge of anxious orchestra patients before each orchestra tour. I am not aware that Szell ever assaulted a player (all but one of them were men) though many dreamed of assaulting him.
The other type pertinent to this discussion is "Borderline" PD. The word "borderline" means not what you might expect, that the personality barely functions. Instead, the classification straddles the boundary between neurosis (like anxiety) and psychosis (disorders like schizophrenia with hallucinations and delusions). The reason I include this PD here is inherent in this description, again by Neel Burton: "In borderline PD (or emotionally unstable PD), the person essentially lacks a sense of self and, as a result, experiences feelings of emptiness and fears of abandonment. There is a pattern of intense but unstable relationships, emotional instability, outbursts of anger and violence (especially in response to criticism), and impulsive behavior. Suicidal threats and acts of self-harm are common, for which reason many people with borderline PD frequently come to medical attention. . . . It has been suggested that borderline personality disorder often results from childhood sexual abuse and that it is more common in women, in part because women are more likely to suffer sexual abuse." (Italics mine)
That description provides an important clue to the origin of all PD's: the idea that certain childhood experiences can influence or determine our ultimate personality. Nurture(child-raising), thus, is at least as critical as a determining factor in this group of disorders as Nature (transmitted by the genome). The reverse seems to be true in many other mental disorders, like schizophrenia and bipolar disease, where biologic causes transmitted in the genome are becoming increasingly apparent. Unfortunately, after the "critical period" of childhood (when the brain is most receptive to such influences because its plasticity is greatest), and its nurturing process, the personality becomes increasingly hardwired in adults and resistant to change. By then, we are what we are and little medicine or therapy can change us. Thus, a balanced personality seems to depend on the nurturing process.
Musicians are nurtured in special ways. Almost all great artists will tell you that they began to play an instrument by the age of five, if not earlier. They will almost universally report that they logged 10,000 hours of guided and serious practice before the reached the age of 18-20. That fact, a result of extensive studies by K. Anders Ericsson and colleagues, roughly translates to a necessary four hours of daily practice, playing, and lessons. Such a time requires the sacrifice of other normal childhood activities and play. When most children are riding bikes and playing ball, music students may be alone in their practice rooms. Musicians who have logged less than 10,000 hours rarely become soloists. They are more likely in the sections of orchestras, working as teachers, or playing the piano for relaxation and enjoyment, in relative proportion to the length of their practice during schooling. I am not aware of studies that show that these musicians have personalities that are better balanced because they used their some of their 10,000 hours to learn better interpersonal skills. However, evidence does show, as I argue in my recent book, Theme and Variations: Musical Notes by a Neurologist, that adults who have studied any music in early school years, in general, do better in later education and in careers in any field.
So, in the Nature vs. Nurture spectrum, personality disorders, including sexual assault, a crime, but also exposure and other inappropriate behavior, would seem to occupy a place near the Nurture end. That places responsibility upon parents and educators during the first two decades of a developing musician's life to ensure that, despite the necessity to devote long hours to music practice, to also create experiences that teach children to live with others in an increasingly complex world. At the end of the development period, universities and conservatories may have the last chance to reinforce and modify emerging problems and should by mindful of those opportunities. By adulthood, personalities are set for life, mores instilled and resistant to change, leaving punitive measures as the only recourse. The latter, however, are equivalent to closing the proverbial barn door, can wound and deprive a developed society of some of its most illustrious individuals including its greatest artists.
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