Breaking: James Levine not returning for Beethoven cycle

Well...folks that were looking forward to a historic Levine cycle will now be truly disappointed. I think Maestro Levine needs to take a hard look at whether he can lead two major ensembles and the stress that it involves while meeting the expectations of the concert going public, which pays exorbitant ticket prices and is left with little recourse in the event of cancellations. The BSO's motto should be "let the buyer beware."

A disappointment for subscribers like us who were so looking forward to Levine's interpretation of the Beethoven cycle.

Hate to say it, but I'm actually more interested in Maazel's interpretation of the Beethoven cycle than I was of Levine's. Now I'm really excited, hoping to get a good ticket that gets turned in.

All tickets are sold out. Still want to go? Show up at the box office shortly before the performance and ask if there are any cancellations. With Levine not appearing, chances are even better.

BSO really erred in taking on this unhealthy human- he has nerve to accept and needs to retire. Not to mention his life long obesity is a bad message to all.I doubt he will recover

In music, it's always "buyer beware"...

This is unfortunate news, but they're lucky to get Maazel for the run. That's a great replacement and signifies they knew they couldn't simply trot out the assistant for the remainder... Of course, it still sucks to miss Levine from the standpoint of them not looking to run the full Beethoven gamut again any time soon! We'll now have to wait a little while on that one...

Now if only they can find an adequate replacement for Polenzani as the tenor on 9!! I mean, really????? Why not just get Juan Diego Florez?? What, were Bruce Ford and Larry Brownlee unavailable???... I mean really... go MORE lyric next time... just what we want to strain to hear when Froh comes around.

Haddock? Furlan? Baker? Hell, even Studebaker!? I know we're not going to rope in the likes of Heppner, Botha, or Shicoff for this thing, but isn't there a young dramatic or pre-Helden to come in and put a friggin horn on it?!

This guy is the J.D. drew of conductors!!!

My husband and I attended the BSO on Saturday night, to hear Beethoven's Symphony No. 1, No. 2, and No. 5. Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos conducted in the place of James Levine, and the performance was masterful--truly one of the best we have ever heard. We agreed on the way home that we didn't miss Levine one little bit.

Very, very disappointing, but at least we have a top-class stand in this time, which is a huge relief.

Who are you kidding? Maazel is the most boring conductor imaginable. Nobody went to the NY Phil while he was there -- not that they're going to go now with the kid they brought in.

One time in Red Sox nation we often heard "Manny being Manny". I guess the only difference now is it's "Levine being Levine". Manny is still a great offensive player but the Red Sox organization and fans didn't want to put up with all the baggage. As for Levine, when healthy and available, yes he can still be a great conductor. But the question is does the BSO and it's subscribers want to go down that road and carry all this baggage?

I too was there on Saturday and the orchestra sounded magnificent. For one of Fruhbeck de Burgos's curtain calls the orchestra refused to stand and he took a solo bow while the musicians applauded for him. I have never, ever seen them do that for Levine. Hmmm.

Ditto on No. 8's comments.

The Fifth especially was played and conducted with an excitement that suggested that we were all hearing it for the first time.
Witness the audience's enthusiastic reaction the night I was there (Thurs).

We've heard enough undistinguished performances from JL so while I don't wish him ill, I also don't view this news as musical tragedy.
The most irritating comment I read in BSO articles are: "the orchestra is playing so much better under JL." In what way? Can any of you describe what's better? I hear the opposite. I've listened to the BSO regularly since the '70s, at the hall and then on the weekly radio broadcasts which I have methodically recorded off the air. I agree, Ozawa was allowed to stay too long but I remember the orchestra sounding better in the '80s and '90s and they still sound more professional on those old broadcast tapes. I used to leave BSO performances feeling satisfied, invigorated, often in awe of the sheer beauty of the colors of sound that were produced. Ozawa and other conductors could lead in a way that let a story be told by the music. And remember the Tennstedt performances? I often feel after a JL concert like I've had too much fast food rammed down my throat.

One "accomplishment" JL has distinguished himself with that to my knowledge, no other conductor has, is to be in command of a train wreck during a BSO performance, and in Carnegie Hall no less! Friends of ours attending this concert a few years back reported that the orchestra became unhinged from itself during a movement of Carter (with the composer in the audience!) to the point where the movement had to be played over from the beginning.

Compared side by side, composer by composer the old BSO with the new JL performances, instead of the variety of color I used to enjoy there is an edgy, forced quality to the sound. The strings (which seem to now be regularly comprised of fewer players) are often overwhelmed by the brass and especially the bass lines are often muted, fuzzy or inaudible. I guess with JL's obscene salary, management has to cut somewhere. The balance is often off, the sheen is missing. I wonder if the man's hearing has been damaged from all those years in the Met orchestra pit. There's little heed paid to whether the music is French, German, classical or romantic. It gets the same treatment. There seems to be more frequent disconnects between sections of the orchestra. Isn't the main job of a conductor to keep the players together in time? Now there's a comparable lack of gracefulness in dance movements. Replacing warmth and variety of sound are sometimes out of context thuds and bangs from the kettle drums. Sections of the orchestra are competing rather than complimenting and supporting each others' lines. Often the music isn't allowed to flow and breathe, instead it alternates between episodes of stagnation and frantic screaming. These interpretations lack imagination and instead of demonstrating musical sophistication, are childish at times. The performances of the Jupiter Symphony were particularly offensive. Every repeat was taken yet no attempt to vary a repetition. It was wham bam from start to finish. Other JL interpretations of works I'm familiar with often seem stale, tedious, labored and boring. I've read that JL has at least one extra rehearsal for each program he conducts. Why aren't these issues dealt with or is he causing them? I suspect the latter when one considers that there are few distinguished recordings with JL on the cover despite the great orchestras featured. It's better when a Haitink or a Frubeck is conducting and presumably they have less rehearsal time with the BSO.

I really don't give much currency to the talk and pr about how great JL is. Its parrot talk. The bottom line is what the performances sound like. The BSO generally sounds better without JL which is why many people, myself included are forgoing subscriptions and picking concerts to attend carefully.

Disappointing as a subscriber, but not the end of the world. I love Maazel.
That said, Mr. Levine may need to rethink the rest of his career.

Better for his long range health not to resume too soon. That goes for the Met. too, however.

Hunefer: "Hmmm."

Really? You really ponder why BSO, let alone any international orchestra, would applaud ANY stand-in conductor in that situation, but not applaud the Artistic Director / incumbent conductor??

You don't think situational politics plays in a WEE BIT there? Kinda like the baritone who admirably fills in for the indisposed and gets the best applause of the evening??

Hey, de Burgos is an EXCELLENT musician. Have seen several of his concerts. Saw him on Beethoven 9 a couple years ago. Excellent -- great future house AD/conductor right there. Seriously, not just good or passable as a fill-in -- we're talking great instincts, knowledge, and communication/expression. BUT... let's not twist and pretend as though one set of applause in his scenario is any type of statement AGAINST Levine.

As in sports, even in classical music, people love to hate on the reigning champ and throw rocks at the throne. It just never fails... Given the extreme knowledge cliff that exists in classical music, I guess some people think he's just a guy waving his arms around.

JL is starting to resemble one of those opera stars who are "available next season for a few select cancellations."

I wish him well, but he's clearly overextended. I was about to say "spread too thin," but thought better of it.

The conductor is not the one playing the instruments and as far as I can tell Mr Levine brings very little to the table, (besides his insatiable appitite for fast food.) It's the musicians that play the music not the conductor. To many people think the conductor is the one that interputs the music and that's just not true. Beethoven composed his 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th and all the rest of his Symphony's, not Mr Levine. Beetoven composed his music to sound a certain way and as long as it's played the way it was writen it will sound beautiful. To often the conductor is given more credit than he deserves and the individual musicians are overlooked and forgotten. Not enough credit is given to the years of hard work and dedication it takes to reach the level of which these musicans have. Mr Levine is underworked, over paid and over appreciated and looks as thou he hasn't mised a meal, ever. Mr Levine stands (actually sits) in front of all the very talanted musicans waving his little wand like he's some kind of magician or musical genis when in fact he's no such person. When are all you music lovers going to realize that Mr Levine has no talent? All he's been doing is using you to collect a $1.5 million dollar payday (and I don't mean the candy bar) and then he has the audacity to never show up and calls out sick more and more. It's time to cut him loose and time to work on a new a new image and vission for the BSO. Wake up people.

Ah! The milk of human kindness on grand display once more from Boston music fans. Such empathy! Such understanding!

May you all get herniated discs and require back surgery - then you can lecture us all about how easy it is.

jfisher, sorry couldn't disagree more. I've been a subscriber for almost thirty years, and I think Levine is the best, hands down. The clarity of the various orchestral sections is wonderful. Even in the loudest, most dense pieces, you can hear the strings, woodwinds, basses, etc. No longer is it a mishmash of sound as it was at the end of the Ozawa era. In the past, the "war horses" were played with little enthusiasm or new insight-not so now. I think the programming is better, especially the juxtaposition of new and old. I think Levine is head and shoulders above tge rest, and I'm sorely disappointed he will not conduct the Beethoven symphonies-at least not until the 3rd and 4th in February!

Disappointing as a subscriber, especially since we have tickets for
Maazel conducting the Beethoven 6th, 7th, and 9th. Maazel, who left the New York Philharmonic orchestra members and subscribers bored with his long tenure brings only his name to concerts these days. I wish I could look forward to the concerts expecting some of Beethoven's greatest works performed with insight,power, and the inner fire characteristic of his extraordinary genius, but alas, I fear we are in for yawns rather than hoorays in Symphony Hall.

Kevin writes: "This guy is the J.D. Drew of conductors!!!"

Isn't Carl Pavano a better comparison?

dd

Regretfully, I think the time has come for Mr. Levine to pack it in and turn over the podium to someone who is capable of showing up. He just isn't up to it anymore. I sure miss those occasions when the orchestra was in the capable hands of principal guest conductor Sir Colin Davis. I was never a Seiji Ozawa fan. Where are the George Szell's and Fritz Reiner's of the world?

I've got my own reservations about Levine's tenure with the BSO, nevertheless, I'm appalled at some of the ugly, stupid, ill informed comments that I am reading here today. What a bunch of jerks. James Levine is one of the major musicians of our time and undeserving of the kind of vile invective on display here. If I believed that you people were truly representative of the music going public in Boston I would feel ashamed for my city and deeply discouraged about the BSO's future.

We also attended Saturday's concert. The 1st and 2nd Symphonies really dragged. The tempo's were way off. The 5th was much better. A taut performance. As for Levine, it's time for the BSO to buy out his contract and move on. I would be the first to donate to a BSO fund to make this happen.

DJMcG,

I'm sorry, but did you attend the BSO concert last weekend? On Saturday the orchestra played wonderfully; Fruhbeck de Burgos conducted with elegance and vigor; the audience went crazy; on one of the curtain calls the orchestra refused to stand with Fruhbeck de Burgos and applauded him. You seem to be saying that the orchestra will do this for any conductor who fills in. I doubt it.

I didn't say that Fruhbeck de Burgos's solo bow was a statement against Levine. I said I've never seen the orchestra give Levine a solo bow. Since you are presumably at the top of the "knowledge cliff" about classical music, perhaps you could explain why they don't seem to do that for the "reigning champ."

jim, I have been discouraged about the BSO's future since Ozawa took over the podium from Steinberg in 1973 - and that was before I even got interested. And many will argue that Erich Leinsdorf still reverberates in the BSO's hallowed halls as the standard by which others would be measured. Bernard Haitink was the players' favorite for a long time and has earned his special Conductor Emeritus title, but he's even older than Jimbo. I wish they would find a way to convince the Mad-Hatter to quietly scale back his schedule (and his career) with them, and meanwhile roll the dice with someone like de Burgos or some new rising star from the music school in Helsinki.

Hunefer:

Like I said, they don't do it for the incumbent because he wasn't 'heroically' filling in at the last second...

And yes, you DID make it as a statement against Levine. That was the very portion of your post that I quoted: "Hmmm". When you say "I have never, ever seen them do that for Levine. Hmmm.", it is quite obvious to ANYONE what you are (weakly) attempting to infer...

It doesn't matter if it's the BSO or any other orchestra, yes, on numerous occasions when someone has substituted for a performance, they receive amplified graciousness from both the audience AND orchestra. As well they should! Like I said before, it's the same as a last second replacement singer, a back-up QB, or any other situation where someone steps in to the spotlight, in the midst of a complex system that requires such instant collaboration, and succeeds in the absence of the fallen part. In fact, I saw the very same scenario (fill in BSO Beethoven) with the very same conductor (de Burgos) back when Levine fell off the stage. Guess what? Same EXACT result... orchestral applause for the heroic efforts of the replacement.

No respected musician in the world questions the legitimacy of Levine. Only the amateur listener who thinks everyone else does it just as good. There's a reason he's risen to the level of respect and received the appointments that he has in his career. The people who make ill commentary of Maestro Levine don't have the first effing clue about score study. They've never seen a single downbeat of rehearsal with Levine and the orchestra. And even if they had, wouldn't even really know what they're watching or how he goes about getting what he wants from the ensemble. They haven't the slightest clue how he communicates with the orchestra, lays down a plan to develop the work at hand, and would miss most of the resulting nuances in performance... Hell, they don't even really contemplate these things as part of the process of being a conductor!

In short, they don't know the first damn thing about what goes in to making a great conductor. This is all part of the "knowledge cliff". I wasn't raising it to brag about my perspectives as much as to exemplify the severe disconnect in how people adjudicate music in general, let alone the responsibilities of a conductor.

Sadly, this typically comprises roughly 90% of any given classical audience. It's fine when you're just there to listen and enjoy. Ultimately, that's what it's ALL about... But the second I have to start listening to armchair Artistic Directors and ignorant opinion being disguised as a legitimate analysis of the situation... well, this is where we start to run in to issues...

DJMcG,

You are full of yourself, sadly incorrect about most of what you've written and boring. Pack it in.