Deal Gives Philharmonic Musicians Modest Gains The contract agreement that the New York Philharmonic reached with its musicians last week will keep the music playing at Avery Fisher Hall and spare the city from the kind of bitter labor unrest that has set off damaging strikes and lockouts at other orchestras. But it leaves both the players and management facing real challenges. While the deal calls for the musicians to receive modest raises - which will increase their salaries by 6.5 percent over the next four years - those raises will not be big enough for them to reclaim the status they once held as the nation's highest-paid symphony orchestra musicians. In a blow that is both psychological and economic, base pay at the Philharmonic, which is the oldest symphony orchestra in the nation and one of the most prestigious, has in recent years fallen behind that of orchestras in Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Boston. And though the Philharmonic's management won some concessions - the players agreed to begin contributing to their health-care coverage in 2015 - the agreement will do little to significantly cut the mounting costs that have left the orchestra with growing deficits. The deficit reached $6.1 million in the 2012-13 season, on a budget of $71 million. Both sides expressed relief that an amicable resolution had been achieved during what has been a difficult time for orchestras. Labor strife has left the Minnesota Orchestra locked out of its hall for more than a year after its players rejected proposals that would substantially cut their pay. That dispute cost the ensemble its respected music director, Osmo Vanska, who resigned after the lockout forced the cancellation of the orchestra's concerts this fall at Carnegie Hall. "I think, frankly, after we see what's happening in other places, like Minnesota, that if we're able to get a fair contract with moderate increases, that people are satisfied with that for the time being," said Dawn Hannay, a violist who is the chairwoman of the orchestra's negotiating committee. The Philharmonic's executive director, Matthew VanBesien, said that he was pleased with the agreement, which he said "gives us time" to enact a long-term plan that could bring the orchestra's revenues and expenses in line. "We understand that we have to operate smarter, and as responsibly as we can, while still being the New York Philharmonic, with everything that's great about the Philharmonic," he said. No one is looking to diminish what the Philharmonic does, and what it means for New York. When the agreement was announced last week, neither side disclosed the terms. But in subsequent interviews both sides said that a series of phased-in raises would increase salaries by 1 percent in March, 1.5 percent in two steps next season, 2 percent in 2015, and another 2 percent in 2016. There will be more pension negotiations before the fourth year takes effect. Those raises will lift the base salary at the Philharmonic, which is now $137,644 a year, to $146,848 in September 2016, officials said, which is still less than the current base salary for players at the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Of course, top players at all the orchestras can make more than twice their base salaries, and comparing the value of all compensation, including health and retirement benefits, is more difficult. Mr. VanBesien said that about half of the orchestra's $6.1 million deficit last year could be attributed to the extra payments the Philharmonic must make to its pension funds, which he said faced an unfunded liability of $21.2 million in August. The rest reflected the investment losses of its endowment, which are still being phased in after the recession and downturn, and the extent to which the costs of things like health care are rising more quickly than revenues. But he also pointed out that the orchestra had managed to raise a record $31 million last year. The last round of contract negotiations at the Philharmonic, in 2012, were more contentious. That year the management tried - but failed - to end the defined-benefit pension plan and replace it with a less generous defined contribution plan, similar to a 401 (k) plan. The management did not seek to do that again this time. But players were still upset that the maximum pension benefit remained capped at $70,000, and said they hoped to negotiate a higher benefit before the fourth year of the new contract takes effect. The deal ensures that the Philharmonic can go ahead with its varied future schedule: from some New Year's Eve frivolity featuring Igudesman & Joo (the musical comedians and YouTube stars Aleksey Igudesman and Hyung-ki Joo) to a two-week tour of Asia in February with Alan Gilbert, its music director, to performances of "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" in March with the baritone Bryn Terfel and the actress Emma Thompson.