A Final Encore From Orchestra Veterans : Music: Eleven musicians are retiring in an unprecedented generational shift at the L.A. Philharmonic.

Last week, after a rousing concert of Gershwin, Revueltas and Bernstein at the Hollywood Bowl, the Los Angeles Philharmonic gathered at the Patio restaurant. Waitresses offered guests filet mignon tips and champagne poured freely. Still, the mood was one of nostalgia, as much as celebration. For the occasion was a retirement party: Eleven musicians, 10% of the 105-member band, were taking their leave--with 401 years of service among them.

Leading the pack is violinist Irving Geller, with 48 years at the Philharmonic, followed by French horn player George Price and oboist Donald Muggeridge, with 47 and 44 years, respectively. Byron Peebles, associate principal trombone; Donald Cole, cello; Gabriel Jellen, cello; Arni Heiderich, bass; and Miles Zentner, piccolo, have more than 30 years apiece to their credit, while violist Murray Schwartz has 27.

Two principals--trumpeter Thomas Stevens (34 years) and cellist Ronald Leonard (24 years)--are also among those retiring.

“Many of these players were serving before I was born,” says music director Esa-Pekka Salonen, 41. “We’re losing a great deal of knowledge and tradition. But there’s a rare amount of communication between the generations at the Philharmonic. While we’ll miss the musicians, of course, what they have given lives on.”

Never before have so many players retired at once--and it’s not by sheer coincidence. A new American Federation of Musicians contract, negotiated in 1996, offered anyone 65 years old (or 60 years old with 30 years’ experience) pension incentives to leave.

“People who wanted to retire but felt compelled for financial reasons to stay were able to leave with dignity and a sense of financial security,” says recent retiree Ernest Fleischmann, who, as managing director at the time, was part of the negotiations. “There is no mandatory retirement age. If they can keep a guy like me until 74, nothing can be mandatory.”

The offer, however, may have other ramifications. “The orchestra was trying to nudge out people who were older, better paid, so they could hire someone at scale,” says the 72-year-old Price. “I also have the feeling that Esa-Pekka, being so young, hated to see gray-haired men in front of him.”

Salonen acknowledges that the orchestra has a younger face than when he arrived in 1992. “There’s a whole new generation in their 20s coming in, for whom I represent a different generation,” he observes. “It’s interesting--sometimes painful. Though I’ve always been the young prodigy, I’m now close to the median age of the orchestra.”

The Music Stops, and Their Stories Begin

With all those years on the job, the gray-haired men of the Philharmonic have some stories to tell. Eight stepped forward, a few weeks before their last concert, to share them with The Times. Not surprisingly, much of the institutional memory focused on the music directors under whom they played--and the bosses who shaped the orchestra.

Conductor Alfred Wallenstein (1943 to 1956) isn’t fondly remembered. Because the players were afraid to make mistakes, the sound, they say, was predictably tight. “Wallenstein was a tough taskmaster, a very nice fellow off the podium,” says Heiderich, 72. “And I had the feeling he didn’t like bass players. He’d always shhhh us, keep us low.”

In contrast, Eduard van Beinum (1958-59) would lunch with his players, play cards backstage and join the musicians on the touring bus. “A group of us would play for him at the airport when he returned from a trip,” Muggeridge, 68, recalls. “To me, he was manna from heaven--and our playing, as a result, freed up.”

Zubin Mehta (1962-78) also comes off well. “Those were the golden years,” says Geller, 73, who performed under six music directors and for a quarter century was the Philharmonic’s associate concertmaster. “We played at the 1967 Montreal Expo, Carnegie Hall, the 25th anniversary of the United Nations. Zubin was a musician, a charismatic conductor and a salesman--a very good package. Though we were good before, we needed the exposure.”

Some gave Mehta mixed reviews: “Zubin had such a flamboyant approach to music that some of the compositions suffered. He would whip things into a froth where it really wasn’t necessary,” says Peebles, 68. “Still, he had such dexterity of baton, he could take the orchestra in any direction.”

The suave European Carlo Maria Giulini (1978-84) was respected and beloved but not always easy to follow. “Giulini was from the old school,” says Leonard, 65. “Though his repertory was limited, he was great at the Old Masters. Technically, however, he wasn’t great. With some conductors you know where the beat is, just when to play. That wasn’t important to Giulini, so our precision suffered.”

Andre Previn (1985-89), these musicians maintained, was never a good fit. An emigre from the movie world, he demanded too little and lacked the necessary passion. “Andre plays piano beautifully,” says Cole, 74. “But he was dull as hell on the podium. With Zubin and Giulini, houses were packed. With Andre, box office started falling off.”

Muggeridge agrees: “Andre was a nice, witty guy but like a college professor when he conducted. And we are entertainers--classical or not.”

Salonen, in contrast, makes a wonderful visual impression, Muggeridge observes, since he’s “very good to look at and knows how to carry himself.” The musicians also praise the conductor for the responsiveness of the orchestra. Intellectual, mathematically oriented, he approaches each piece as a puzzle, most say, and, in terms of technique, the Philharmonic has never played better.

Several, however, suggest that precision is not always the goal. Says Leonard, who is otherwise an admirer of Salonen’s: “I keep looking for more warmth, something beyond the technical. There’s a lot of heart in [the orchestra]--it’s just a matter of pulling it out.”

Retirees Get the Last Word--Sometimes

Almost all the retirees have problems--bottom line and personal--with new music, a genre to which Salonen, a composer, is strongly committed. “Not that there aren’t some good pieces out there on which the ink is barely dry,” says Jellen, 67. “But a lot of it is noise, cacophony--not transporting people to a more beautiful place.”

“The last week or two of the season, we played so much new music that we went home nuts,” Price recalls. “There was such dissonance in my head that I longed for a melody or a resolved chord.”

The string of managing directors is considerably shorter since Fleischmann came aboard in 1969 and stayed for close to 30 years. A larger-than-life, sometimes abrasive personality, they said, he was crucial to the progress of the Philharmonic. “Ernest put the orchestra on the map,” Price says. “Though he could be tough on his staff, he also made sure his players were treated well.”

Few of the musicians bonded with the next managing director, Willem Wijnbergen, whose recent resignation over “serious issues” took them--and the public--by surprise. “He was more ‘business’ than interpersonal,” Geller says. “And though he was a knowledgeable pianist, I didn’t see him much at concerts.”

Still, Geller and many of his colleagues give Wijnbergen’s policies high marks. Refusing to fill the seats by issuing free tickets took guts, many said. “Willem faced up to the reality of the operation--what is happening to our audiences,” Peebles says. “Papering the house is a double-edged sword. Seeing those empty seats was demoralizing, at first--like a bullet between the eyes.”

None of the players thinks that the orchestra will be crippled by their departure. Heiderich, for one, thinks it will be a shot in the arm: “A lot of older musicians feel that they know the literature. They’re not about to ‘woodshed’ it at home for five hours picking apart a piece. Younger players are less complacent, more into their jobs. They’re going for perfection since their future is at stake.”

At the concert before the farewell party, Salonen handed out medals--and a hug--to each of the retirees present. Controversy makes for a better product, he had commented earlier, when confronted with some of their criticism.

“I’m not interested in dealing with faceless laborers of music but with artists with their own points of view.”

The music director is the final arbiter in replacing all 11 players. Though filling the positions isn’t easy, Salonen says he’s trying not to “panic.” Last fall, the Philharmonic’s Auditions and Renewals Committee--a standing group of musicians supplemented by members of the sections in which players must be replaced--began putting advertisements in union publications. Between 50 and 150 candidates have been auditioning for each of the vacant slots.

“There’s some tremendous playing going on,” observes Philharmonic general manager Gail Samuel. “But the audition process is difficult--we’re trying to find the best of the best.”

Auditions Ongoing for Open Orchestra Seats

Choosing new musicians is always an investment, the music director notes. “You have to trust that they will emerge as top players with time--and be well-suited for collaboration. For the principal spots, you need leadership skills as well.”

So far, six of the positions have been filled. Houston Symphony bass player David Moore will take over for Heiderich while James Miller, principal of the North Carolina Symphony, will replace Peebles on the trombone. Hui Liu, a Chicago Symphony violist, will come in for Schwartz, while his wife, Chao-Hua Jin, a freelance violinist, will replace Geller. Brent Samuel, a New York freelance cellist, and David Garrett, from the cello section of the Houston Symphony, will also come aboard.

Yet to be selected are another cellist, an oboist, piccolo player, French horn player and trumpeter. Auditions are also ongoing for the principal roles in the trumpet and cello sections. “This will be a huge period of change and growth--a new group learning to work together,” Samuel predicts.

The challenge, say the players, comes at an unfortunate time--right after Wijnbergen’s unexpected departure and before a long-planned sabbatical for Salonen.

Salonen offers a note of reassurance. “I’m keeping my office and continuing to participate in the audition process,” Salonen says. “And, aside from the daily conducting chores, I’ll perform the duties of music director. Though everyone hopes the transition will be smooth, this is a huge shake-up in the life of the orchestra.”