Amidst the alarming tale sent to me by my friend Rupert of the 111-year-old Philadelphia Orchestra filing for bankruptcy (the good news being that this doesn't actually appear to involve stopping playing or disbanding or anything), I couldn't help but spot the following paragraph:
Musicians strongly opposed the filing of any category of bankruptcy, which could jeopardize funding to their pensions, and they staged a showy (if genteel) objection Saturday. As orchestra board members filed into the ground-floor entrances to 1701 Market Street and up to the offices of law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, a string quartet serenaded them with Schubert and Mozart.
My mind is boggling slightly as I imagine the orchestra board members running the picket line to the strains of whatever is the German for "Scab" and "Hands off our pensions," sung with appropriately Mozartian decoration.
17th April 2011
