ASO musicians accept agreement; season to begin

type='html'>The musicians of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra accepted a new collective bargaining agreement Wednesday, barely averting a postponement of the fall season and just hours before the orchestra’s president, Stanley Romanstein, was scheduled to speak to the Buckhead Business Association Thursday morning.

The deal will cost players $5.2 million in compensation over two years, change their pay structure, and cut their numbers significantly. In return, Romanstein and a handful of other top ASO executives will forfeit 6 percent of their collective salaries, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The agreement clears the way for the 2012-2013 season to open on time Oct. 4, according to the AJC. But the musicians – who claim that the cuts demanded by ASO management will set the orchestra back decades — made it clear that they are far from satisfied. That raises the question of how the symphony, regarded as one of the best in the country, will repair itself, the AJC reports.

For the full AJC story, click here. For the story about Romanstein’s talk to BBA, click here.