Burdened by millions of dollars in pension obligations it says it can no longer afford, the Philadelphia Orchestra filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, unleashing a wave of criticism and concern from other orchestras, the New York Times reports.

Like other major orchestras in the country, the century-old Philadelphia Orchestra offered its musicians a defined-benefit pension plan, promising a set amount per year on retirement — regardless of how well its investments performed — based on the number of years onstage the musician had performed. Pensions were provided through both an in-house plan and the American Federation of Musicians and Employers' Pension Fund, a multi-employer plan in which the costs — and risks — are spread among multiple institutions.

The financial crisis and recession have made it increasingly difficult for the orchestra to meet those obligations, however. Indeed, after filing for bankruptcy in April, the orchestra requested that its own pension plan, which was frozen in 2004, and its portion of the AFME fund be taken over by the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. Under law, an employer that withdraws from a multi-employer plan must cover what is called its "withdrawal liability" — the amount it owes the fund for its obligations on the date of its withdrawal. The AFME fund's trustees put the amount at $35 million; the orchestra says it is closer to $1 million.

That claim has upset other orchestras that pay into the fund, as well as William Moriarty, a retired trumpeter and member of the fund's board. "The more employers who withdraw, the worse it is for the fund," Moriarty told the Times. If Philadelphia doesn't pay what it owes, others will have to make up the $35 million shortfall, he added. His concern was echoed by Deborah Borda, president of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, who told the Times the move by Philadelphia "makes us ask very serious questions about our participation [in the fund] as we take a long-term look at the health of our institutions."

But Philadelphia Orchestra president and CEO Allison Vulgamore dismissed the idea that the orchestra's pension moves would hurt other institutions. "The Philadelphia Orchestra is managing its own situation with choices that are available to it," Vulgamore told the Times. "I would not say that anything that is happening translates to other orchestras. I wouldn't be so presumptuous."