James Levine

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James Lawrence Levine (born June 23, 1943) is an American conductor and pianist.

He is best known for his time as the Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera (the "Met), a role he held for 40 years (1976–2016).

On March 12, 2018, Levine was officially barred from all his positions and employment with the Met as a result of sexual harassment charges that he denies.

Levine has also served as a leader of the Munich Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Lindemann's Young Artists Development Program began in 1980, and he has regularly trained promising singers, conductors, and musicians for professional careers. Following Levine's departure from performing from 2011 to 2013 as the Met's full-time Music Director, he transitioned from performing from 2011 to 2013. The New York Times published a front-page article on December 2, 2017 featuring detailed accounts of four men from their 40s to 60s alleged sexual assault by Levine, who lived decades before the man was a music student in his teens or early 20s.

The Met suspended Levine and called off his future planned engagements the following day.

The Ravinia Festival also ended all links with Levine, as did the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which announced that Levine will never be employed or contracted by the BSO at any time in the future." The Met ended its relationship with Levine in March 2018 after having "found credible facts," following an investigation that had ended in March 2018.

Early years and personal life

Levine was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to a Jewish family. His maternal grandfather was a composer and a cantor in a synagogue; his father, Lawrence, was a violinist who performed in dance bands under the name "Larry Lee" before he entered his father's clothing business; and his mother, Helen Goldstein Levine, appeared briefly on Broadway as "Helen Golden." Tom, who was two years younger, was his brother, who followed him to New York City from Cincinnati in 1974, and with whom he was very close. Tom has been sent as his company assistant, handling his affairs, answering questions, arranging his rehearsals, fielding issues, scouting out places to live, meeting with accountants, and accompanying Levine on trips to Europe. Tom was also a painter. Janet, a marriage consultant, has also had a younger sister.

He began playing piano as a young child. Levine made his debut as a soloist in Felix Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 10 on February 21, 1954. 2 at a youth performance of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in Ohio.

Levine studied music with Walter Levin, the first violinist in the LaSalle Quartet. Rudolf Serkin, a piano teacher at the Marlboro Music School in Vermont, taught piano lessons in 1956. He began studying piano with Rosina Lhévinne at Aspen Music School next year. He graduated from Walnut Hills High School, a magnet school in Cincinnati. In 1961, he attended the Juilliard School of Music in New York City and took courses in conducting with Jean Morel. He graduated from Juilliard in 1964 and became involved with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in an American conductors project.

Levine lived in The San Remo in New York City, which is on Central Park West.

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Career

Levine worked as an apprentice to George Szell with the Cleveland Orchestra from 1964 to 1965. He appeared as the Orchestra's assistant conductor until 1970. He made his debuts with the Philadelphia Orchestra at its summer home in Robin Hood Dell, the Welsh National Opera, and the San Francisco Opera. He taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music from 1965 to 1972. He appeared at the Meadow Brook School of Music in Michigan and at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's summer home. During that time, Levine's charismatic network gained a devoted fanbase of young musicians and music enthusiasts.

Levine appeared in June 1971, being recalled at the last minute to substitute István Kertész for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Mahler's Second Symphony, the Ravinia Festival's first concert in the city's 36th season. This concert was the start of a long association with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He appeared on the Ravinia Festival from 1973 to 1993, succeeding the late Kertész. He made numerous recordings with the orchestra, including the symphonies and Requiem of Johannes Brahms, as well as Gershwin's major works, such as the symphonies and German Requiem of Johannes Brahms, as well as Beethoven, Mozart, Beethoven, Mozart, and others. In 1990, at Roy E. Disney's behest, he arranged the music and conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the Fantasia 2000 soundtrack, which was released by Walt Disney Pictures. Levine served as the Cincinnati May Festival's music director from 1974 to 1978.

Levine made his Metropolitan Opera debut a few weeks before he turned 28, on June 5, 1971, and he was in charge of Puccini's Tosca's Tosca in the Festival. He was named the company's principal conductor in February 1972 after further appearances with the company. In 1975, he became the company's music director. He served as conductor and musical director for the Franco Zeffirelli film adaptation of Verdi's La Traviata, which included the Met orchestra and chorus members in 1983. In 1986, he became the company's first artistic director, before relinquishing the name in 2004. Levine's total income from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Met made him the country's highest-paid conductor, earning him $3.5 million.

The Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its operations into recording and concert series for the orchestra and chamber ensembles from Carnegie Hall during Levine's tenure. On several domestic and international tours, Levine conducted the Metropolitan Opera. Levine conducted the world premiere of John Harbison's The Great Gatsby, which was commissioned for the occasion on the 25th anniversary of his Met debut. Peter Gelb, the Met's general manager, emphasized that Levine would continue to perform as long as he wanted to perform there. In 2010, Levine was paid $2.1 million by the Met.

Levine's health issues led to his exclusion from many Metropolitan Opera engagements, prompting his cancellation from many of them. Levine officially withdrew from all Met engagements following Wagner's Die Walküre's appearance in May 2011. He returned to conducting with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall in May 2013. In a revival performance of Mozart's Cos fan tutte, Levine performed his first Met performance since May 2011. In the 2013–14 season, he was scheduled to appear three times at the opera house and three at Carnegie Hall. Levine will step down from his position as music director at the end of the 2015–16 season, Met management announced on April 14, 2016. By the Met, Levine was paid $1.8 million for the 2015–16 season. He assumed the new name Music Director Emeritus, which he held on until December 2017, after Levine was accused of sexually assaulting four young men, the Met ended its relations with him and cancelled all of his scheduled performances with the company.

In April 1972, Levine conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO). He was appointed the BSO's first American-born conductor in October 2001, beginning with the 2004-05 season.

Levine's one unusual occurrence was increased flexibility in the time allotted for rehearsal, allowing the orchestra additional time to create more challenging works. The orchestra also established a "Artistic Initiative Fund" of about $40 million to fund the more costly of his programs at the start of his tenure.

Levine did not attend any orchestra auditions during his BSO tenure, according to one of his BSO performances. According to a 2005 survey, he attended two out of 16 auditions during his time as a director. After the initial probationary period, Levine said he would have the ability to advise musician selection decisions, and that it is impossible to know how well a candidate will do well until that individual has had the opportunity to work with the orchestra: "The audition isn't everything."

According to another 2005 study, Levine's first season as music director increased physical strain on some of the BSO musicians. Levine and the participants met to discuss this, and Levine and the players decided to make program changes to lessen these demands. Since the orchestra's inception, he has been praised for the orchestra's quality and repertoire from the outset of his tenure.

Levine suffered with persistent health issues, beginning with an onstage crash that resulted in a torn rotator cuff and began discussions of how long Levine's BSO service would last. In April 2010, it was discovered that Levine had not signed a contract extension, but that he was the BSO's music director without a signed contract. After the Orchestra's Tanglewood season, Levine resigned as music director, effective September 2011.

Composer John Harbison dedicated his Symphony No. 2 to Levine and the BSO while on a commission from Levine and the BSO. He was greeted "in friendship and admiration" for his premature departure from the orchestra that prevented him from attending the premiere.

Following allegations of assaulting a number of young men, the BSO said Levine "will never be hired or contracted by the BSO at any time in the future."

Levine's BSO membership limited his appearances with American orchestras, but he continued to perform in Europe, with the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, and the Bayreuth Festival. Levine was a frequent visitor to the Philharmonia of London and the Staatskapelle Dresden. He appeared regularly at the Salzburg Festival and the annual July Verbier Festival, beginning in 1975. He was chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic from 1999 to 2004, and he was credited with raising the quality of the orchestral ensemble during his tenure.

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