Economy is forcing orchestra to scale back

Reverberations from formidable fund-raising challenges, a steep rise in labor costs, and a depressed economy will rumble onto the Philadelphia Orchestra stage next season.

Guest soloists and conductors are being asked to take lower fees, and programming is assuming more modest proportions.

Even chief conductor and artistic adviser Charles Dutoit is making sacrifices. He had hoped to lead Richard Strauss' Elektra and costly choral works, but economic considerations have forced him into more restrained choices.

Unrelated to the economy, the orchestra's national profile will slip a notch next season. It will perform only three concerts in Carnegie Hall rather than the traditional four; Carnegie will hold to its agreement for three orchestra visits even though in recent years it has added a fourth, a spokeswoman for the hall said.

In addition, the orchestra has reached the conclusion of a relationship with the Ondine record label, and this season decided to end, at least for now, national and international simulcasts via Internet 2.

The lack of these public relations vehicles combined with the cancellation of its 2009 tour of European festivals puts the orchestra dangerously close to disappearing from the elite international orchestra scene, even as it continues efforts to simultaneously identify a new president/chief executive officer, board chairman, and music director.

The artistic budget will take a hit next season as part of an across-the-board budget cut, artistic vice president Jeremy Rothman said last week.

"The orchestra is reducing expenses across the board, but we're still seeing great artists and diverse repertoire," he said.

Interim acting executive director and CEO Frank P. Slattery Jr. declined to cite specific year-to-year budget figures, but he said of this moment generally: "I have never seen an economic situation like what exists today. Life is very tough out there, and we've put together as prudent a set of concerts as we can."

Board members and musicians say the deficit this year could go as high as $5 million. But marketing chief J. Edward Cambron said it was too early to tell: "We are not sure how we will end the year at this stage, and it's too premature to throw out any numbers."

A spokesman said that the orchestra had "not finalized our budget for '09-'10 yet, only pieces of it, like artistic."