James Levine (born June 23, 1943 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American orchestral pianist and conductor and most well known as the music director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York. He is also the current music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. June 23 is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 191 days remaining. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... Nickname: The Queen City Location in Hamilton County, Ohio, USA Coordinates: Country United States State Ohio County Hamilton Founded 1788 Incorporated 1819 Mayor Mark L. Mallory (D) Area    - City 206. ... A grand piano, with the lid up. ... A conductor conducting a band at a ceremony A conductors score and batons Conducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. ... The Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, seen from Lincoln Center Plaza A full house at the old Metropolitan Opera House, seen from the rear of the stage, at the Metropolitan Opera House for a concert by pianist Józef Hofmann, November 28, 1937. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ... The Boston Symphony Orchestra is one of the worlds most renowned orchestras. ...

Levine was born into 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 Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 2 at a youth concert of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. A hazzan or chazzan (Hebrew for cantor) is a Jewish musician trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the synagogue in songful prayer. ... Lesko synagogue, Poland A synagogue (Hebrew: בית כנסת ; beit knesset, house of assembly; Yiddish: שול, shul) is a Jewish place of religious worship. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Felix Mendelssohn at the age of thirty Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, born and known generally as Felix Mendelssohn (February 3, 1809 – November 4, 1847) was a German composer and conductor of the early Romantic period. ... Cincinnati Music Hall As the fifth-oldest orchestra in the United States, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) has a legacy of fine music making as reflected in its performances in historic Music Hall, recordings, and international tours. ...

Levine subsequently studied music with Walter Levin, first violinist in the La Salle Quartet. In 1956 he took piano lessons with Rudolf Serkin at the Marlboro (Vermont) School of Music. In 1957 he began piano studies with Rosina Lhévinne at the Aspen Music School. In 1961 he entered the Juilliard School of Music in New York City, and took courses in conducting with Jean Morel. In 1964 he graduated from the Juilliard School and joined the American Conductors project connected with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Rudolf Serkin (March 28, 1903 – May 8, 1991) was an Austrian pianist. ... Rosina Lhévinne (born Rosina Bessie, March 29,1880 in Kiev, Russia (now Ukraine) - died November 7,1976 in Glendale, California), Russian pianist and piano pedagogue. ... Founded in 1949, the Aspen Music Festival and School is an internationally renowned classical music festival that presents world-class music in an intimate, small-town setting. ... The Juilliard School is a performing arts conservatory in New York City, informally but definitively identified as simply Juilliard, and most famous for its musically-trained alumni. ... Nickname: Big Apple Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City 1,214. ... The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. ...

From 1964 to 1965, Levine served as an apprentice to George Szell with the Cleveland Orchestra and then served as assistant conductor until 1970. That year, he also made his debut appearance as guest conductor with the Philadelphia Orchestra at its summer home at Robin Hood Dell. In 1970, he made his debut with the Welsh National Opera and the San Francisco Opera. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in June 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 (the first in its history) in 1986. Levine had a long association with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and served from 1973 to 1993 as music director of the Ravinia Festival. In 1990, at the request of Roy E. Disney, he arranged the music and conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the soundtrack of Fantasia 2000 released by Walt Disney Pictures. He also served as Music Director with the Cincinnati May Festival (1974-1978). George Szell, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1954 György Széll, best known by his Anglicised name George Szell (June 7, 1897 – July 29, 1970) was a conductor and composer. ... The Cleveland Orchestra is one of the major symphony orchestras in the United States. ... The Philadelphia Orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is one of the Big Five symphony orchestras in the United States and usually considered among the finest in the world. ... The Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru or Wales Millenium Centre, a new performing arts centre which opended in 2004, is the home of the Welsh National Opera (WNO), a touring operatic company founded in Cardiff in 1943. ... San Francisco Opera (SFO) is the second largest opera company in North America. ... The Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, seen from Lincoln Center Plaza A full house at the old Metropolitan Opera House, seen from the rear of the stage, at the Metropolitan Opera House for a concert by pianist Józef Hofmann, November 28, 1937. ... Original poster Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Victorien Sardous drama, La Tosca. ... The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, based in Chicago, Illinois, is one of the leading orchestras in the world. ... The title of music director is used by many orchestras to designate the primary conductor of the orchestra. ... Roy E. Disney Roy Edward Disney, KCSG, (born January 10, 1930) is a longtime senior executive for the Walt Disney Company, which his father Roy Oliver and his uncle Walt founded. ... Fantasia 2000 is the thirty-eighth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. ... Walt Disney Pictures is an American movie studio, with off-shoot studios in Japan and other sites in the United States. ... The Cincinnati May Festival is a two-week annual choral festival, usually held in mid-to-late May in Cincinnati, Ohio. ...

Under his leadership, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra and chorus became one of the finest operatic ensembles in the world, and Levine started a regular concert series for the orchestra (and chamber ensembles thereof) at Carnegie Hall. On his recent appointment as General manager of the Met, Peter Gelb emphasised that, even after 35 years as music director, something exceptional in the major opera houses of the world, James Levine would be most welcome to remain as long as he wanted to direct music there. His present contract runs through the 2010/2011 season. The Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, seen from Lincoln Center Plaza A full house at the old Metropolitan Opera House, seen from the rear of the stage, at the Metropolitan Opera House for a concert by pianist Józef Hofmann, November 28, 1937. ... Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City located at 881 7th Avenue, occupying the east stretch of 7th Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street. ... Peter Gelb is the General Manager Elect of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. ...

At the Met, Levine has led numerous new productions of works of Mozart, Verdi, Wagner, Strauss, Rossini, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Kurt Weill, Claude Debussy, Alban Berg, and George Gershwin. 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. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (baptized as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart; January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) was a prolific and highly influential composer of Classical music. ... Giuseppe Verdi, by Giovanni Boldini, 1886 (National Gallery of Modern Art, Rome). ... Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813 – February 13, 1883) was an influential German composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his operas (or music dramas as he later came to call them). ... Richard Strauss Richard Strauss (June 11, 1864 – September 8, 1949) was a German composer of the late Romantic era, particularly noted for his tone poems and operas. ... Portrait Gioacchino Antonio Rossini (February 29, 1792 – November 13, 1868) was an Italian musical composer who wrote more than 30 operas as well as sacred music and chamber music. ... Arnold Schoenberg, Los Angeles, 1948 Schoenberg redirects here. ... Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (Russian: И́горь Фёдорович Страви́нский Igor Fjodorovič Stravinskij) (June 17, 1882 – April 6, 1971) was a Russian-born composer of modern classical music. ... Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900 – April 3, 1950), born in Dessau, Germany and died in New York City, was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s until his death. ... Claude Debussy, ca. ... Portrait of Alban Berg by Arnold Schoenberg, c. ... George Gershwin photograph by Edward Steichen in 1927. ... John Harris Harbison (born December 20, 1938 in Orange, New Jersey) is a composer, best known for his operas and large choral works. ...

Levine has led the Metropolitan Opera on many domestic and international tours. The company telecasts several productions around the world (in the US on PBS) each season and makes radio broadcasts on Saturday afternoons from December to April across North America. The Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, seen from Lincoln Center Plaza A full house at the old Metropolitan Opera House, seen from the rear of the stage, at the Metropolitan Opera House for a concert by pianist Józef Hofmann, November 28, 1937. ... PBS re-directs here; for alternate uses see PBS (disambiguation) PBS logo The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is a non-profit public broadcasting television service with 349 member TV stations in the United States. ...

In October 2004, Levine took the helm of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, succeeding Seiji Ozawa as music director, and becoming the first American to head the venerable orchestra. He now splits his time between New York and Boston. Thus, for the first time in living memory, the same man was in charge of the country's leading opera house and a top orchestra. (In Europe, Herbert von Karajan had performed a similar feat in the 1950s as chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic and director of the Vienna Staatsoper.) The Boston Symphony Orchestra is one of the worlds most renowned orchestras. ... Seiji Ozawa (小澤征爾; Ozawa Seiji, born September 1, 1935) is a Japanese conductor. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ... Boston is a town and small port c. ...

His Boston Symphony contract limits his guest appearances with American orchestras but Levine conducts regularly in Europe, with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, and at the Bayreuth Festival. Levine is also a regular guest with the Philharmonia Orchestra of London and the Dresden Staatskapelle. Since 1975, he has also conducted regularly at the Salzburg Festival and the annual July Verbier Festival, of which he is also music director. The Boston Symphony Orchestra is one of the worlds most renowned orchestras. ... The Munich Philharmonic Orchestra is one of three great orchestras in the city of Munich, along with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Bavarian State Opera orchestra. ... The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (in German: Wiener Philharmoniker) is the best known orchestra in Austria and one of Europes major ensembles. ... The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the worlds leading orchestras. ... Bayreuth Festspielhaus, as seen in 1882 The annual Bayreuth Festival in Bayreuth, Germany is devoted principally (but not exclusively) to performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner. ... The Philharmonia is an orchestra based in London. ... The Dresden Staatskapelle is an orchestra based in Dresden,Germany. ... The Salzburg Festival is a prominent music festival in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. ... The Verbier Festival is an international music festival that takes place annually in the mountain resort of Verbier, Switzerland. ...

Levine also performs regularly in chamber music ensembles and as an accompanist in Lieder recitals. Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. ... Lied (plural Lieder) is a German word, literally meaning song; among English speakers, however, it is used primarily as a term for European classical music songs, also known as art songs. Typically, Lieder are arranged for a single singer and piano. ...

On 1 March 2006, Mr. Levine fell onstage during a standing ovation after a performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and tore the rotator cuff in his right shoulder. Later that month, he underwent surgery to repair the injury. He returned to the podium July 7, 2006, leading the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood. ^[1] March 1 is the 60th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (61st in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Sergiu Celibidache (June 28, 1912, Roman, Romania - August 14, 1996, Paris) was a Romanian conductor. ... The Munich Philharmonic Orchestra is one of three great orchestras in the city of Munich, along with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Bavarian State Opera orchestra. ... Christian Thielemann (born 1959 in Berlin) is a German conductor. ... Seiji Ozawa (小澤征爾; Ozawa Seiji, born September 1, 1935) is a Japanese conductor. ... The Boston Symphony Orchestra is one of the worlds most renowned orchestras. ...

References

1. ^ A maestro on the mend, Beggy, Carol and Mark Shanahan, The Boston Globe, March 31, 2006