Levine, James (Lawrence)

Levine, James (Lawrence), brilliant American pianist and conductor; b. Cincinnati, June 23, 1943. 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 playing the piano as a small child. At the age of 10, he was soloist in Mendelssohn’s Second Piano Concerto at a youth concert of the Cincinnati Sym. Orch. He then studied music with Walter Levin, first violinist in the La Salle Quartet, and in 1956 took piano lessons with Serkin at the Marlboro (Vt.) School of Music. In 1957 he began piano studies with Lhévinne at the Aspen (Colo.) Music School. In 1961 he entered the Juilliard School of Music in N.Y., and took courses in conducting with Jean Morel. He also had conducting sessions with Wolfgang Vacano in Aspen. In 1964 he graduated from the Juilliard School and joined the American Conductors Project connected with the Baltimore Sym. Orch., where he had occasion to practice conducting with Wallenstein, Rudolf, and Cleva. In 1964-65 he served as an apprentice to Szell with the Cleveland Orch., and then was an asst. conductor with it (1965–70). In 1966 he organized the Univ. Circle Orch. of the Cleveland Inst. of Music. He also led the student orch. of the summer music inst. of Oakland Univ. in Meadow Brook, Mich. (1967–69). In 1970 he made a successful appearance as guest conductor with the Philadelphia Orch. at its summer home at Robin Hood Dell. He subsequently appeared with other American orchs. In 1970 he also conducted the Welsh National Opera and the San Francisco Opera. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. on June 5, 1971, in a festival performance of Tosca; his success led to further appearances and to his appointment as its principal conductor in 1973; he then was its music director from 1975 until becoming its artistic director in 1986. From 1973 to 1993 he was music director of the Ravinia Festival, the summer home of the Chicago Sym. Orch., and served in that capacity with the Cincinnati May Festival (1974–78). In 1975 he began to conduct at the Salzburg Festivals. In 1982 he conducted at the Bayreuth Festival for the first time. He conducted his first Ring cycle at Bayreuth in 1995, and led another mounting of that tetralogy at the Metropolitan Opera in 1997. In 1997 he received the National Medal of Arts. From 1999 he was also music director of the Munich Phil. He continued to make appearances as a pianist, playing chamber music with impeccable technical precision. But it is as a conductor and an indefatigable planner of the seasons at the Metropolitan Opera that he inspired respect.

Unconcerned with egotistical projections of his own personality, he presided over the singers and the orch. with concentrated efficiency.

Bibliography

R. Marsh, Dialogues and Discoveries: J. L, His Life and His Music (N.Y., 1998).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire