In the Arts: Philadelphia Musicians Seek Review of Orchestra’s Endowment

The union representing Philadelphia Orchestra musicians wants to examine the symphony’s endowment to determine whether it can be tapped to cover pension liabilities related to the organization’s bankruptcy, The Philadelphia Inquirer writes.

The American Federation of Musicians filed court papers Monday seeking access to a broad range of documents related to the orchestra’s $120-million endowment and all donations, grants, and bequests to it.

As part of its financial reorganization, the orchestra is considering withdrawing from players’ current pension plan. Ray Hair, president of the union, said it intends to challenge the orchestra’s view that the endowment is largely restricted by donor wishes and cannot be used to pay the estimated $23-million cost of the pension pullout.

In other arts news:

● The Detroit Symphony Orchestra has seen donations spike since it returned from a six-month strike, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The orchestra’s donor rolls jumped by 27 percent to 4,800 in April and May after musicians and management agreed on a new contract, ending the bitter labor dispute. The organization took in more than $3-million during the abbreviated season and is $500,000 ahead of its 2010 fund-raising pace.

● Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts will pay restitution to the heir of a Jewish art dealer after a yearslong probe by the institution determined that a 17th-century Dutch painting in its collection had probably been looted by the Nazis, The Boston Globe writes.

A nephew of Walter Westfeld, who died at Auschwitz, contacted the Museum of Fine Arts in 2004, four years after it posted online images of the Eglon van der Neer painting and other works to resolve questions about how they made their way to Boston. The heir received an undisclosed sum and agreed to let the museum keep the painting.

Since 2004 the museum has returned three other works found to have been seized during World War II.