Eschenbach out of post in Paris Months ago, he didn't renew his Phila. pact.

Just as Christoph Eschenbach was returning to the East Coast after two weeks of touring the United States with the Philadelphia Orchestra, his other ensemble, Orchestre de Paris, announced late Wednesday that Eschenbach would be replaced by Paavo Järvi starting in 2010.

The Paris news comes seven months after Eschenbach decided not to renew his contract with the Philadelphia Orchestra after the 2007-2008 season - and it was unexpected. Eschenbach's Paris position appeared to be more durable than his five-year Philadelphia tenure, which he decided to end in October 2006.

But as Eschenbach revealed yesterday, the two decisions were related. "Orchestras, conductors and management are not working together anymore," he said yesterday. "The management in both cases [Paris and Philadelphia], I'm sorry to say, is amateurish. I've struggled with this quite a long time in Paris. I don't want to do that anymore . . . I'm a free man."

For the first time in decades, Eschenbach will be without a formal orchestral appointment, though he returns this summer to two festivals he once led, Germany's Schleswig-Holstein Festival (1999-2002) and the Chicago area's Ravinia (1994-2003).

He has touring plans with the Vienna Philharmonic, which has no music director, and guest engagements in both Europe and America. "My work doesn't stop," he said. "On the contrary, it offers new things."

Having assumed the Paris post in 2000, Eschenbach, 67, will have spent a respectable decade with the reputedly difficult orchestra, whose sense of individuality among the players prompted short tenures with 20th-century conducting gods such as Herbert von Karajan and Georg Solti. Among other things, Eschenbach saw the orchestra through its unpleasant, multi-year exile from its traditional home, Salle Pleyel, during renovations.

However, what appeared to be a warm, even worshipful attitude toward Eschenbach by Orchestre de Paris management was, in fact, full of actions "typical of a person who wants more power, and may be jealous of what happens onstage," he said. The Orchestre de Paris declined to comment on anything relating to Eschenbach.

Though Eschenbach has often been characterized as having a difficult relationship with the Philadelphia musicians, he praised the orchestra's recent tour performances, which received some of the best reviews of his tenure. His complaints about Philadelphia management are aimed toward the current regime: "The management knows what I think . . . it's not a secret," he said.

Reached for comment, Philadelphia Orchestra president James Undercofler said, "From my perspective, things are working well. I would have to talk to Christoph directly about his comments and feelings."

He has major projects with both orchestras, including a complete cycle of Mahler symphonies on DVD in Paris. Several Philadelphia recordings are in the pipeline. And after conducting the final date of the tour Sunday in Washington, Eschenbach tours Spain with the Paris orchestra and conducts the Philadelphia Orchestra during Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival in July.