MUSIC

The New Orleans Symphony, with no money left to pay its musicians, closed its season 10 weeks early Saturday with the players walking off the stage one by one during Haydn’s “Farewell Symphony.” Haydn wrote the “Farewell” in 1772, orchestrating the departures to impress his patron to do more for the musicians. The symphony board voted last week to cancel the last 10 weeks of the season in the face of a longstanding $3.5-million debt, $208,000 in unpaid bills, and no sign of the $1.2 million needed for the remaining performances. The board will meet in two weeks to decide what to do. Robert Howard, president of Shell Offshore Inc. and a member of the board, was named head of a task force to deal with the future.