James Lawrence Levine

Biography

James Lawrence Levine is an American conductor and pianist. He is primarily known for his tenure as Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera, a position he held for 40 years (1976 to 2016). He has made numerous recordings, as well as television and radio broadcasts, with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Levine has also held leadership positions with the Ravinia Festival, the Munich Philharmonic, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In 1980, he started the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program and often works to train promising singers, conductors, and musicians for professional careers. After suffering severe health problems, Levine took a hiatus from conducting for almost two years. He returned to conducting in 2013. He stepped down as the Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera at the end of the 2015-2016 season to assume the new position of Music Director Emeritus.

Early years

James Levine was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to a musical family: his maternal grandfather was a cantor in a synagogue, his father was a violinist who led a dance band, and his mother was an actress. He began to play the piano as a small child. At the age of 10, he made his concert debut as soloist in Felix Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 2 at a youth concert of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

Levine subsequently studied music with Walter Levin, first violinist in the LaSalle Quartet. In 1956 he took piano lessons with Rudolf Serkin at the Marlboro Music School, Vermont. In the following year he began studies with Rosina Lhévinne at the Aspen Music School. After graduating from Walnut Hills High School, the acclaimed magnet school in Cincinnati, he entered the Juilliard School of Music in New York City in 1961, and took courses in conducting with Jean Morel. He graduated from the Juilliard School in 1964 and joined the American Conductors project connected with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

From 1964 to 1965, Levine served as an apprentice to George Szell with the Cleveland Orchestra, and then served as its assistant conductor until 1970. That year, he also made debuts as guest conductor with the Philadelphia Orchestra at its summer home at Robin Hood Dell, the Welsh National Opera, and the San Francisco Opera. In June 1971, he was called in at the last moment to substitute for István Kertész,[2] to lead the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Mahler's Second Symphony for the Ravinia Festival's opening concert of their thirty-sixth season. This concert began a long association with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and two years later, in 1973, he was appointed music director of the Ravinia Festival, succeeding the late Kertész. Levine held the position until 1993, and made numerous recordings with the orchestra, including the symphonies and German Requiem of Johannes Brahms, and major works of Gershwin, Holst, Berg, Beethoven, Mozart, and others. In 1990, at the request of Roy E. Disney, he arranged the music and conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the soundtrack of Fantasia 2000, released by Walt Disney Pictures. From 1974 to 1978, Levine served as music director of the Cincinnati May Festival.

Metropolitan Opera

Levine made his Metropolitan Opera ('the Met') debut in June 1971, leading a June Festival performance of Tosca. Following further appearances with the company, he was named principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in February 1972.[3] He became the Met's music director in 1976. In 1983, he served as conductor and musical director for the Franco Zeffirelli screen adaptation of La Traviata, which featured the Met orchestra and chorus members. He became the company's first artistic director in 1986,[4] and relinquished the title in 2004.

During Levine's tenure, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its activities into the realms of recording, and separate concert series for the orchestra and chamber ensembles from The Met Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.[5] Levine has led the Metropolitan Opera on many domestic and international tours. For the 25th anniversary of his Met debut, Levine conducted the world premiere of John Harbison's The Great Gatsby, commissioned especially to mark the occasion. On his appointment as General Manager of the Met, Peter Gelb emphasized that James Levine was welcome to remain as long as he wanted to direct music there.

Following a series of injuries that began with a fall in Boston (see below), subsequent health problems with Levine led to his withdrawal from many Metropolitan Opera conducting engagements. Following a May 2011 performance of Die Walküre, Levine formally withdrew from all conducting engagements at the Metropolitan Opera.[7] After two years of physical therapy, Levine returned to conducting with a May 2013 concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.[8] On September 25, 2013, Levine conducted his first Metropolitan Opera performance since May 2011, in a revival production of Così fan tutte.[9][10] Levine is scheduled to conduct three productions at the opera house and three concerts at Carnegie Hall in the 2013–14 season.[11] On April 14, 2016, it was announced that Levine would be stepping down from his position as Music Director at the end of the 2015-2016 season.[12] He will also assume the new title of Music Director Emeritus.

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Levine first conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in April 1972.[14] In October 2001, Levine was named music director of the BSO, effective with the 2004–2005 season, with an initial contract of five years,[15] becoming the first American-born conductor to head the BSO.

One unique condition that Levine negotiated was increased flexibility of the time allotted for rehearsal, allowing the orchestra additional time to prepare more challenging works.[16] After the start of his tenure, the orchestra also established an "Artistic Initiative Fund" of about US$40 million to fund the more expensive of Levine's projects.

One criticism of Levine during his BSO tenure is that he did not attend many orchestra auditions. A 2005 article reported that Levine had attended two out of 16 auditions during his tenure up to that time. Levine himself has responded that he has the ability to provide input on musician tenure decisions after the initial probationary period, and that it is difficult to know how well a given player will fit the given position until that person has had a chance to work with the orchestra. He stated "My message is the audition isn't everything."

Another 2005 report stated that during Levine's first season as music director, the greater workload from the demands of playing more unfamiliar and contemporary music has increased physical stress with some of the BSO musicians. Levine and the players met to discuss this, and he agreed to program changes to lessen these demands.[19] Levine has received general critical praise for revitalizing the orchestra's quality and repertoire since the beginning of his tenure.

Levine had been experiencing ongoing health problems, starting with an onstage fall in 2006 that resulted in a torn rotator cuff and started discussion of how much longer Levine's tenure with the BSO would be.[21] In April 2010, in the wake of Levine's continuing health problems, it emerged that Levine had not officially signed a contract extension, so that Levine was the BSO's music director without a signed contract.[22] On March 2, 2011, the BSO announced Levine's resignation as Music Director effective September 2011, after the Orchestra's Tanglewood season.

Working on a commission from Levine and the BSO, the composer John Harbison dedicated his Symphony No. 6 "in friendship and gratitude" to the conductor, whose premature departure from the orchestra prevented him from conducting the premiere.

Conducting in Europe

Levine's Boston Symphony contract limited his guest appearances with American orchestras, but Levine has conducted regularly in Europe, with the Vienna Philharmonic (in 1989 and 1990, he recorded Mozart's first twenty symphonies with that orchestra), Berlin Philharmonic, and at the Bayreuth Festival. Levine has been a regular guest with the Philharmonia of London and the Staatskapelle Dresden. Beginning in 1975 he conducted regularly at the Salzburg Festival and the annual July Verbier Festival. From 1999 to 2004, he was chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic, and was credited with improving the quality of instrumental ensemble during his tenure.[26]

Work with students

Levine has initiated the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera, a professional training program for graduated singers with, today, many famous alumni.

Levine was conductor of the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra, the student resident orchestra at the annual summer music festival in Verbier, Switzerland, from 2000 through 2006. It was Levine's first long-term commitment to a student orchestra since becoming music director at the Met. After becoming Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Levine also served as Music Director of the Tanglewood Music Center, the BSO's acclaimed summer academy at Tanglewood for student instrumentalists, singers, composers, and conductors. There he conducted the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, directed fully staged opera performances with student singers, and gave master classes for singers and conductors.

Levine himself has said in interviews:

"At my age, you are naturally inclined towards teaching. You want to teach what you have learned to the next generation so that they don't have to spend time reinventing the wheel. I was lucky that I met the right mentors and teachers at the right moment. I love working with young musicians and singers, and those at the Tanglewood Music Center are unequivocally some of the finest and most talented in the world."

Conductors he has helped and influenced through his musical mentoring include Marco Armiliato, James Conlon John Keenan and Jens Georg Bachmann.

Health problems

Levine has experienced recurrent health issues in recent years, including sciatica and what he has called "intermittent tremors".[27] On March 1, 2006, Levine tripped and fell onstage during a standing ovation after a performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and tore the rotator cuff in his right shoulder, leaving the remaining subscription concerts in Boston to his assistant conductor at the time, Jens Georg Bachmann. Later that month, Levine underwent surgery to repair the injury. He returned to the podium on July 7, 2006, leading the BSO at Tanglewood.

Levine withdrew from the majority of the Tanglewood 2008 summer season, because of surgery required to remove a kidney with a malignant cyst.[15] He returned to the podium in Boston on September 24, 2008, leading the BSO's season opening concert at Symphony Hall.[29] On September 29, 2009, it was announced that Levine would undergo emergency back surgery for a herniated disk. He missed some three weeks of engagements, including a season opening performance at Carnegie Hall with the BSO, performances of Tosca at the Met, and regular BSO subscription concerts.

In March 2010, the BSO announced that Levine would miss the remainder of the Boston Symphony season because of back pain.[31][32] The Metropolitan Opera also announced, on April 4, 2010, that Levine was withdrawing from the remainder of his scheduled performances for the season. According to the Met, Levine was required to have "corrective surgery for an ongoing lower back problem."[33] Levine returned to conducting duties at the Met and the BSO at the beginning of the 2010–11 season, but in February 2011 he cancelled his Boston engagements for the rest of the season, including the Tanglewood summer festival.

In the summer of 2011, Levine underwent further surgery on his back. In September 2011, after falling and injuring his back while on vacation in Vermont, the Met announced that Levine would not conduct at the Met at least for the rest of 2011.

After two years of surgery and physical therapy, Levine returned to conducting for the first time on May 19, 2013, in a concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Levine conducted from a motorized wheelchair, with a special platform designed to accommodate the wheelchair.[8] Levine finally returned to the Met on September 24, 2013, and took up his baton to conduct performances of Mozart's Così fan tutte.[35] The same type of platform was present in the Metropolitan Opera orchestra pit for his September 2013 return performance.

Recordings and film

Levine can be seen and heard in many audio and video recordings. Levine has recorded extensively with many orchestras and especially often with the Metropolitan Opera. His performance of Aïda with Leontyne Price, her last in opera, was preserved on video and may be seen at the Met's own online archive of performances. Of particular note are his performances of Wagner's complete Der Ring des Nibelungen. A studio recording made for Deutsche Grammophon in 1987–1989 can be found on compact disc and a 1989 live performance of the Ring is available on DVD.

He also appears on several dozen albums as a pianist, collaborating with such singers as Jessye Norman, Kathleen Battle, Christa Ludwig and Dawn Upshaw, as well as performing the chamber music of Franz Schubert and Francis Poulenc, among others.

Levine was featured in the animated Disney film Fantasia 2000. He conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the soundtrack recordings of all the music in the film (with the exception of one segment from the original 1940 Fantasia). Levine is also seen in the film talking briefly with Mickey Mouse, just as his predecessor Leopold Stokowski did in the original film.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Levine (biography above)
• http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608000704/James-Levine.html (names of family members)

James Levine est un chef d'orchestre et pianiste américain né le 23 juin 1943 à Cincinnati (Ohio) et mort le 9 mars 2021 à Palm Springs.

Biographie

D'origine juive, James Levine naît dans une famille de musiciens (son grand-père maternel a été hazzan dans une synagogue). Pianiste de formation, il apprend le métier de chef d'orchestre auprès de Jean Morel (à la Juilliard School de New York) puis de George Szell.

De 1999 à 2004, il succède à Sergiu Celibidache comme chef de l’orchestre philharmonique de Munich.

C'est lui qui dirige l'orchestre symphonique de Chicago pour le film Fantasia 2000 (séquences visuelles sur des œuvres de musique classique).

Directeur musical du Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) de 2004 à 20111, il est surtout connu pour son activité de chef d'orchestre principal du Metropolitan Opera de New York (1976-2016).

En 2011, des problèmes de santé le poussent à quitter le Boston Symphony Orchestra après sept saisons. Levine a souffert de sciatique, d'obésité, a été opéré d'un kyste malin au niveau d'un rein (en 2008), de tremblements au niveau des mains en relation avec une rupture de la coiffe des rotateurs (opérée deux fois en 2006). Ces problèmes l'ont forcé à annuler plusieurs concerts1.

En septembre 2013, il est de retour au Met pour diriger — en chaise roulante — Così fan tutte, puis, en décembre, Falstaff.

En juin 2016, le chef d'orchestre québécois Yannick Nézet-Séguin le remplace comme directeur musical du Met.

En 2017, James Levine est accusé par trois hommes d’avoir abusé d’eux, en 1968 pour deux d'entre eux et en 1986 pour le troisième, alors qu’ils étaient mineurs. À la suite de cela, le Metropolitan Opera annonce le 3 décembre 2017 la suspension de son chef d’orchestre historique. Le 13 mars 2018, le Met le licencie, après 40 ans de collaboration.

En août 2019, James Levine et le Metropolitan Opera finalement se dédommagent mutuellement, mettant ainsi fin à leur différend. En effet, James Levine réclamait 5,8 millions de dollars au Metropolitan Opera pour rupture abusive de contrat et diffamation. De son côté, le Metropolitan Opera demandait la même somme au chef d'orchestre pour le préjudice lié aux faits d'agression et de harcèlement sexuel sur une période de 25 ans.

James Levine meurt à 77 ans le 9 mars 2021 à Palm Springs

Wikipedia

ג'יימס לוין

' (אנגלית: James Levine; נולד ב-23 ביוני 1943 בסינסינטי אוהיו) הוא מנצח תזמורת ופסנתרן יהודי-אמריקאי, היה המנהל המוזיקלי של המטרופוליטן אופרה בניו יורק משנת 1976 ועד שנת 2016. בדצמבר 2017 פרסם ה"ניו יורק טיימס" תלונות מפורטות של ארבעה גברים בשנות ה -40 לחייהם אשר התלוננו על התעללות מינית ארוכת שנים מצד לוין. בעקבות הפרסומים הופסקה עבודתו של לוין בתזמורת הסימפונית של בוסטון ובהמשך גם במטרופוליטן.

ביוגרפיה לוין נולד במשפחה מוזיקלית: סבו מצד אמו היה חזן בבית כנסת, אביו היה כנר, שניצח על תזמורת ריקודים, ואמו הייתה שחקנית. הוא התחיל לנגן בפסנתר בשחר ילדותו. בגיל 10 הופיע לראשונה כסולן בנגינת הקונצ'רטו לפסנתר מס' 2 של מנדלסון, בקונצרט לנוער של התזמורת הסימפונית של סינסינטי.

לוין המשיך בלימודי מוזיקה אצל וולטר לוין, כנר ראשי ברביעיית לה סאל. בשנת 1956 קיבל שיעורי פסנתר אצל רודולף סרקין בבית הספר למוזיקה ופסטיבל מרלבורו בוורמונט. בשנת 1957 ב-1957 החל ללמוד בבית הספר למוזיקה באספן. בשנת 1961 התקבל לבית למוזיקה ג'וליארד בניו יורק ולמד ניצוח אצל ז'אן מורל. בשנת 1964 סיים את ג'וליארד והצטרף לפרויקט המנצחים האמריקאים שליד תזמורת בולטימור.

בשנים 1964-65 שימש לוין כמתלמד לגאורג סל בתזמורת קליבלנד ואחר כך כעוזר מנצח עד 1970. אותה שנה גם הופיע לראשונה כמנצח אורח עם תזמורת פילדלפיה במעון הקיץ שלה ב"רובין הוד דל" ובהמשכה עם האופרה הלאומית של וולס ועם האופרה של סן פרנסיסקו. הופעתו הראשונה עם המטרופוליטן אופרה הייתה ביוני 1971 בהפקת פסטיבל של "טוסקה"; הצלחתו הובילה להופעות נוספות ולמינויו כמנצח ראשי בשנת 1973; לאחר זאת היה המנהל הראשי של המטרופוליטן משנת 1975 עד מינויו למנהלה האמנותי (הראשון בתולדותיה) בשנת 1986. לוין עמד בקשר ממושך עם התזמורת הסימפונית של שיקגו ומשנת 1973 עד 1993 שימש כמנהל המוזיקלי של פסטיבל רוויניה. בשנת 1990, לבקשת רוי א. דיסני, ערך את המוזיקה וניצח על תזמורת שיקגו בפסקול הסרט "פנטזיה 2000", בהפקת אולפני וולט דיסני. הוא היה גם המנהל המוזיקלי של פסטיבל מאי בסינסינטי.

בניצוחו, נעשו התזמורת והמקהלה של המטרופוליטן אופרה לאחד ההרכבים האופראיים הטובים בעולם. לוין יזם סדרת קונצרטים קבועה לתזמורת (ולהרכבים קאמריים מתוכה) בקרנגי הול. עם מינויו לא מכבר למנהל כללי של המטרופוליטן, הדגיש פיטר גלב, שאפילו לאחר 35 שנים כמנהל מוזיקלי, תופעה חריגה בבתי האופרה החשובים בעולם, ג'יימס לוין מוזמן בשמחה להמשיך בניהול מוזיקלי של בית האופרה כל עוד ירצה בכך. החוזה הנוכחי שלו הוא עד עונת 2010/2011.

במטרופוליטן, ניצח לוין על הפקות חדשות רבות מספור של יצירות מאת מוצרט, ורדי, וגנר, ריכרד שטראוס, רוסיני, שנברג, סטרווינסקי, קורט וייל, קלוד דביסי, אלבן ברג וג'ורג' גרשווין. ליובל ה-25 להופעתו הראשונה במטרופוליטן, ניצח לוין על הצגת הבכורה העולמית של "גטסבי הגדול" מאת ג'ון הרביסון, לפי ספרו של סקוט פיצג'רלד, שהוזמנה במיוחד לציון האירוע.

לוין לקח את המטרופוליטן אופרה למסעות הופעות רבים, הן בארצות הברית והן מחוצה לה.

באוקטובר 2004 לקח לוין לידיו את הנהגת התזמורת הסימפונית של בוסטון כמנהל מוזיקלי ממשיך לסייג'י אוזאווה, ובכך היה לאמריקאי הראשון העומד בראש התזמורת הנכבדה ועתירת השנים הזאת. הוא חלק את זמנו בין ניו יורק לבוסטון. כך קרה שלראשונה בתולדות אמריקה, ניצב אותו אדם בראש בית האופרה המוביל והתזמורת הראשונה במעלה של ארצות הברית (באירופה ביצע הרברט פון קאראיין מהלך דומה בשנות ה-50, כאשר היה מנצח ראשי של הפילהרמונית של ברלין ומנהל האופרה של וינה).

החוזה של לוין עם תזמורת בוסטון מגביל את הופעות האורח שלו עם תזמורות אמריקאיות, אבל הוא מופיע בקביעות באירופה, עם הפילהרמונית של מינכן, הפילהרמונית של וינה, הפילהרמונית של ברלין ובפסטיבל ביירוית. לוין הוא גם אורח קבוע בתזמורת פילהרמוניה של לונדון והתזמורת הסקסונית הממלכתית של דרזדן. מאז 1975, הוא מנצח בקביעות גם בפסטיבל זלצבורג ובפסטיבל וורבייה השנתי שבשווייץ שהוא גם מנהלו המוזיקלי, מדי חודש יולי.

לוין ניגן בקביעות בהרכבי מוזיקה קאמרית וכמלווה ברסיטלים של לידר, אך מצבו הבריאותי המעורער מונע ממנו להמשיך בקריירה שלו כפסנתרן.

ב-1 במרץ 2006 אירעה ללוין תאונת נפילה על הבמה בעת התשואות לאחר קונצרט עם תזמורת בוסטון. הוא נפגע בכתפו הימנית, עבר ניתוח לתיקון הנזק וביטל את כל הופעות הניצוח שלו לשארית העונה. לאחר הפסקה, חזר אל דוכן המנצחים ב-7 ביולי 2006 בטנגלווד ובכוונתו לפתוח את עונת הקונצרטים הבאה של תזמורת בוסטון בסתיו 2006.

בשנת 2011 החמיר מצבו הבריאותי של לוין ובמשך קרוב לשנה היו סיכוייו לחזור לנצח נתונים בספק. במאי 2013 חזר לקונצרט ניסיון עם תזמורת המטרופוליטן בקרנגי הול, מכיסא גלגלים. הנהלת התזמורת לחצה על פיטר גלב להחליט על מעמדו של לוין בתקופת היעדרותו, ובינתיים תפס את מקומו פאביו לואיזי, שמונה למנצח ראשי; אך גלב לא הרפה ממאמציו להשיב את לוין למעמדו כמנהל המוזיקלי של תזמורת המטרופוליטן, ובאפריל 2014 חזר המנצח אל הדוכן, בעזרת שיפוע מיוחד שנבנה למענו. על אף הכחשות קודמות, מסתבר שלוין לוקה במחלת פרקינסון שאינה פרוגרסיבית, ומשום כך איננו שוקל בשלב זה חזרה אל הקריירה שלו כפסנתרן.[1]

בדצמבר 2017 הקפיא המטרופוליטן את קשריו עם לוין. בהודעה רשמית שפרסמו מנהלי המטרופוליטן נאמר: "לוין לא יהיה מעורב בפעילויות של המטרופליטן, כולל קונצרטים שעליהם היה אמור לנצח השנה". מנהלי האופרה הודיעו עוד כי מינו את עורך הדין רוברט ג' קלירי להוביל את הבדיקה בנוגע לטענות על הטרדות מיניות מצד לוין, שהתקיימו לכאורה החל משנות ה-60 ועד לשנות ה-80.[2] זאת בעקבות חשדות שהתפרסמו מוקדם יותר באותה שנה.[3]

קישורים חיצוניים ויקישיתוף מדיה וקבצים בנושא ג'יימס לוין בוויקישיתוף Spotify logo without text.svg ג'יימס לוין , באתר Spotify Allmusic Favicon.png ג'יימס לוין , באתר AllMusic (באנגלית) MusicBrainz Logo 2016.svg ג'יימס לוין , באתר MusicBrainz (באנגלית) ג'יימס לוין , באתר Discogs (באנגלית) Songkick logotype.svg ג'יימס לוין , באתר Songkick (באנגלית) IMDB Logo 2016.svg ג'יימס לוין , במסד הנתונים הקולנועיים IMDb (באנגלית) https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%92%27%D7%99%D7%99%D7%9E%D7%A1_%D7...

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James Lawrence Levine is an American conductor and pianist. He is primarily known for his tenure as Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera, a position he held for 40 years (1976 to 2016). He has made numerous recordings, as well as television and radio broadcasts, with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Levine has also held leadership positions with the Ravinia Festival, the Munich Philharmonic, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In 1980, he started the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program and often works to train promising singers, conductors, and musicians for professional careers. After suffering severe health problems, Levine took a hiatus from conducting for almost two years. He returned to conducting in 2013. He stepped down as the Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera at the end of the 2015-2016 season to assume the new position of Music Director Emeritus.

Early years

James Levine was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to a musical family: his maternal grandfather was a cantor in a synagogue, his father was a violinist who led a dance band, and his mother was an actress. He began to play the piano as a small child. At the age of 10, he made his concert debut as soloist in Felix Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 2 at a youth concert of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

Levine subsequently studied music with Walter Levin, first violinist in the LaSalle Quartet. In 1956 he took piano lessons with Rudolf Serkin at the Marlboro Music School, Vermont. In the following year he began studies with Rosina Lhévinne at the Aspen Music School. After graduating from Walnut Hills High School, the acclaimed magnet school in Cincinnati, he entered the Juilliard School of Music in New York City in 1961, and took courses in conducting with Jean Morel. He graduated from the Juilliard School in 1964 and joined the American Conductors project connected with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

From 1964 to 1965, Levine served as an apprentice to George Szell with the Cleveland Orchestra, and then served as its assistant conductor until 1970. That year, he also made debuts as guest conductor with the Philadelphia Orchestra at its summer home at Robin Hood Dell, the Welsh National Opera, and the San Francisco Opera. In June 1971, he was called in at the last moment to substitute for István Kertész,[2] to lead the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Mahler's Second Symphony for the Ravinia Festival's opening concert of their thirty-sixth season. This concert began a long association with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and two years later, in 1973, he was appointed music director of the Ravinia Festival, succeeding the late Kertész. Levine held the position until 1993, and made numerous recordings with the orchestra, including the symphonies and German Requiem of Johannes Brahms, and major works of Gershwin, Holst, Berg, Beethoven, Mozart, and others. In 1990, at the request of Roy E. Disney, he arranged the music and conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the soundtrack of Fantasia 2000, released by Walt Disney Pictures. From 1974 to 1978, Levine served as music director of the Cincinnati May Festival.

Metropolitan Opera

Levine made his Metropolitan Opera ('the Met') debut in June 1971, leading a June Festival performance of Tosca. Following further appearances with the company, he was named principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in February 1972.[3] He became the Met's music director in 1976. In 1983, he served as conductor and musical director for the Franco Zeffirelli screen adaptation of La Traviata, which featured the Met orchestra and chorus members. He became the company's first artistic director in 1986,[4] and relinquished the title in 2004.

During Levine's tenure, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its activities into the realms of recording, and separate concert series for the orchestra and chamber ensembles from The Met Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.[5] Levine has led the Metropolitan Opera on many domestic and international tours. For the 25th anniversary of his Met debut, Levine conducted the world premiere of John Harbison's The Great Gatsby, commissioned especially to mark the occasion. On his appointment as General Manager of the Met, Peter Gelb emphasized that James Levine was welcome to remain as long as he wanted to direct music there.

Following a series of injuries that began with a fall in Boston (see below), subsequent health problems with Levine led to his withdrawal from many Metropolitan Opera conducting engagements. Following a May 2011 performance of Die Walküre, Levine formally withdrew from all conducting engagements at the Metropolitan Opera.[7] After two years of physical therapy, Levine returned to conducting with a May 2013 concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.[8] On September 25, 2013, Levine conducted his first Metropolitan Opera performance since May 2011, in a revival production of Così fan tutte.[9][10] Levine is scheduled to conduct three productions at the opera house and three concerts at Carnegie Hall in the 2013–14 season.[11] On April 14, 2016, it was announced that Levine would be stepping down from his position as Music Director at the end of the 2015-2016 season.[12] He will also assume the new title of Music Director Emeritus.

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Levine first conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in April 1972.[14] In October 2001, Levine was named music director of the BSO, effective with the 2004–2005 season, with an initial contract of five years,[15] becoming the first American-born conductor to head the BSO.

One unique condition that Levine negotiated was increased flexibility of the time allotted for rehearsal, allowing the orchestra additional time to prepare more challenging works.[16] After the start of his tenure, the orchestra also established an "Artistic Initiative Fund" of about US$40 million to fund the more expensive of Levine's projects.

One criticism of Levine during his BSO tenure is that he did not attend many orchestra auditions. A 2005 article reported that Levine had attended two out of 16 auditions during his tenure up to that time. Levine himself has responded that he has the ability to provide input on musician tenure decisions after the initial probationary period, and that it is difficult to know how well a given player will fit the given position until that person has had a chance to work with the orchestra. He stated "My message is the audition isn't everything."

Another 2005 report stated that during Levine's first season as music director, the greater workload from the demands of playing more unfamiliar and contemporary music has increased physical stress with some of the BSO musicians. Levine and the players met to discuss this, and he agreed to program changes to lessen these demands.[19] Levine has received general critical praise for revitalizing the orchestra's quality and repertoire since the beginning of his tenure.

Levine had been experiencing ongoing health problems, starting with an onstage fall in 2006 that resulted in a torn rotator cuff and started discussion of how much longer Levine's tenure with the BSO would be.[21] In April 2010, in the wake of Levine's continuing health problems, it emerged that Levine had not officially signed a contract extension, so that Levine was the BSO's music director without a signed contract.[22] On March 2, 2011, the BSO announced Levine's resignation as Music Director effective September 2011, after the Orchestra's Tanglewood season.

Working on a commission from Levine and the BSO, the composer John Harbison dedicated his Symphony No. 6 "in friendship and gratitude" to the conductor, whose premature departure from the orchestra prevented him from conducting the premiere.

Conducting in Europe

Levine's Boston Symphony contract limited his guest appearances with American orchestras, but Levine has conducted regularly in Europe, with the Vienna Philharmonic (in 1989 and 1990, he recorded Mozart's first twenty symphonies with that orchestra), Berlin Philharmonic, and at the Bayreuth Festival. Levine has been a regular guest with the Philharmonia of London and the Staatskapelle Dresden. Beginning in 1975 he conducted regularly at the Salzburg Festival and the annual July Verbier Festival. From 1999 to 2004, he was chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic, and was credited with improving the quality of instrumental ensemble during his tenure.[26]

Work with students

Levine has initiated the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera, a professional training program for graduated singers with, today, many famous alumni.

Levine was conductor of the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra, the student resident orchestra at the annual summer music festival in Verbier, Switzerland, from 2000 through 2006. It was Levine's first long-term commitment to a student orchestra since becoming music director at the Met. After becoming Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Levine also served as Music Director of the Tanglewood Music Center, the BSO's acclaimed summer academy at Tanglewood for student instrumentalists, singers, composers, and conductors. There he conducted the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, directed fully staged opera performances with student singers, and gave master classes for singers and conductors.

Levine himself has said in interviews:

"At my age, you are naturally inclined towards teaching. You want to teach what you have learned to the next generation so that they don't have to spend time reinventing the wheel. I was lucky that I met the right mentors and teachers at the right moment. I love working with young musicians and singers, and those at the Tanglewood Music Center are unequivocally some of the finest and most talented in the world."

Conductors he has helped and influenced through his musical mentoring include Marco Armiliato, James Conlon John Keenan and Jens Georg Bachmann.

Health problems

Levine has experienced recurrent health issues in recent years, including sciatica and what he has called "intermittent tremors".[27] On March 1, 2006, Levine tripped and fell onstage during a standing ovation after a performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and tore the rotator cuff in his right shoulder, leaving the remaining subscription concerts in Boston to his assistant conductor at the time, Jens Georg Bachmann. Later that month, Levine underwent surgery to repair the injury. He returned to the podium on July 7, 2006, leading the BSO at Tanglewood.

Levine withdrew from the majority of the Tanglewood 2008 summer season, because of surgery required to remove a kidney with a malignant cyst.[15] He returned to the podium in Boston on September 24, 2008, leading the BSO's season opening concert at Symphony Hall.[29] On September 29, 2009, it was announced that Levine would undergo emergency back surgery for a herniated disk. He missed some three weeks of engagements, including a season opening performance at Carnegie Hall with the BSO, performances of Tosca at the Met, and regular BSO subscription concerts.

In March 2010, the BSO announced that Levine would miss the remainder of the Boston Symphony season because of back pain.[31][32] The Metropolitan Opera also announced, on April 4, 2010, that Levine was withdrawing from the remainder of his scheduled performances for the season. According to the Met, Levine was required to have "corrective surgery for an ongoing lower back problem."[33] Levine returned to conducting duties at the Met and the BSO at the beginning of the 2010–11 season, but in February 2011 he cancelled his Boston engagements for the rest of the season, including the Tanglewood summer festival.

In the summer of 2011, Levine underwent further surgery on his back. In September 2011, after falling and injuring his back while on vacation in Vermont, the Met announced that Levine would not conduct at the Met at least for the rest of 2011.

After two years of surgery and physical therapy, Levine returned to conducting for the first time on May 19, 2013, in a concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Levine conducted from a motorized wheelchair, with a special platform designed to accommodate the wheelchair.[8] Levine finally returned to the Met on September 24, 2013, and took up his baton to conduct performances of Mozart's Così fan tutte.[35] The same type of platform was present in the Metropolitan Opera orchestra pit for his September 2013 return performance.

Recordings and film

Levine can be seen and heard in many audio and video recordings. Levine has recorded extensively with many orchestras and especially often with the Metropolitan Opera. His performance of Aïda with Leontyne Price, her last in opera, was preserved on video and may be seen at the Met's own online archive of performances. Of particular note are his performances of Wagner's complete Der Ring des Nibelungen. A studio recording made for Deutsche Grammophon in 1987–1989 can be found on compact disc and a 1989 live performance of the Ring is available on DVD.

He also appears on several dozen albums as a pianist, collaborating with such singers as Jessye Norman, Kathleen Battle, Christa Ludwig and Dawn Upshaw, as well as performing the chamber music of Franz Schubert and Francis Poulenc, among others.

Levine was featured in the animated Disney film Fantasia 2000. He conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the soundtrack recordings of all the music in the film (with the exception of one segment from the original 1940 Fantasia). Levine is also seen in the film talking briefly with Mickey Mouse, just as his predecessor Leopold Stokowski did in the original film.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Levine (biography above)
• http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608000704/James-Levine.html (names of family members)