For nine months, musicians with the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra struggled to save their jobs and their organization from devastating austerity. Now their long strike has finally come to an end, as orchestra management has dissolved the organization.

San Antonio symphony musicians are hopeful that they can build a new organization out of the rubble. But for reasons endemic to the live classical music industry, it will be difficult to form one devoid of the troublesome features that led to the current juncture — namely, a near-total reliance on philanthropy rather than government funds.

From the beginning of their strike, musicians understood that the organization’s dissolution was a likely outcome. The orchestra was drowning in debt, and management had not developed the skills or financial relationships necessary for survival as a leading orchestra in the United States. These relationships are life-and-death for orchestras. As the New York Times put it, “It’s Official: Many Orchestras Are Now Charities.”