The fact that the courtship was covered in incremental detail by the New York Times no doubt strengthens Morales' bargaining position. Will he negotiate a contract in New York, or parlay his Avery Fisher Hall triumph into a better deal in Philadelphia?
As of late Monday, the matter had not been settled, and a Philharmonic spokesman said a conclusion was not expected before the New York ensemble leaves on tour Thursday.
Morales is a rare talent. But his exit wouldn't be devastating. Not by itself. Orchestral music is a buyers' market, and astonishing players can be found. The conventional wisdom was that no one could hold a candle to one of Morales' predecessors, Burt Hara, and conventional wisdom proved wrong.
It would also be a mistake to think that the only orchestra to lose great talent is the one in financial jeopardy. Musicians are people, and while it's tidy to think of this as a sport won by the team offering the best deal, musicians, like the rest of us, often take new jobs for reasons that have nothing to do with the job itself.
They prefer one city to another, or perhaps are recently divorced and want to be close to children relocating with the ex-spouse.
Morales did not respond to an e-mail inquiry, and the orchestra declined to address the issue.
But that doesn't mean there aren't salient questions to ask now, whether or not Morales leaves. How they are answered has everything to do with whether this orchestra continues to operate at its high artistic level, or begins a drift to second-tier status.
The most urgent worry is whether this is the thin end of the wedge. With threatened cuts in salary, size of ensemble, and duration of season, is this the beginning of an exodus? When organizations contract, after all, it tends to be the best players who find other jobs - because they can.
