Last April, self posted this SNLC about the fact that James Levine, music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), did not have a signed contract with the BSO, in spite of being scheduled to hold the post until at least 2012. This raised, or attempted to raise, issues about the depth of Levine's commitment to the BSO. In addition, Levine's recurring health problems have also been in the back of everyone's heads also on that issue. I asked at the end of that SNLC whether at some point, Levine would actually sign on the dotted line, to show formally at least his commitment to the BSO.
Well, as of this week, that doesn't really matter any more. The BSO announced a few days ago that Levine would resign as the orchestra's music director effective September 1, 2011, 1 year earlier than scheduled. More below the flip....
The story had broken in Boston and NYC in articles before the links to follow, but you can read coverage from the Boston Globe as follows:
(a) Article from Geoff Edgers & Jeremy Eichler, 3/3/11
(b) Commentary from Jeremy Eichler, 3/3/11
There's also this article by Daniel J. Wakin of the NYT on Levine's resignation. The New York City connection is because Levine is also music director of the Metropolitan Opera.
If one accepts the media accounts, the tipping point came last week, during rehearsals for Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 9. From the Edgers & Eichler article:
"Levine said he knew last week, at a rehearsal of Mahler's Ninth Symphony, that it was time to go.
'Somehow I could tell the orchestra when they looked at me, they weren't seeing what they need,' he said. 'And I could feel I wasn't giving what they needed, because I was distracted by the fever and the pain....I couldn't say, "Oh, bear with this." It just wouldn't be right.'
He ended up withdrawing from the Mahler concerts and the remainder of his conducting duties for the season because of continuing back problems."
From the Wakin article:
"Last week the lingering effects of a procedure related to Mr. Levine's most recent surgery, compounded by a virus, forced him to cancel performances of Mahler's Symphony No. 9. That was a signal to both that the time had come.
'We said, "It's clear to us you should be focusing on your health,"' Mr. Volpe recounted, adding that he told Mr. Levine that it was time to move forward with a search for his successor. 'He fully understood,' Mr. Volpe said.
Mr. Volpe told the orchestra on Wednesday afternoon at rehearsal. 'Frankly, no one was shocked,' he said."
Levine's cancellations, and ultimately his resignation, have thrown things at the BSO into some level of chaos, to put it mildly, because of the way scheduling in classical music-land works. Conductors and soloists tend to be booked several years in advance, so that last-minute disruptions like this cause mass scramble to find replacement conductors, and in at least one instance, changes in the orchestra's program. From the Edgers and Eichler article, BSO horn player Jonathan Menkis addresses this issue (note: the embedded links are mine, and not from the Globe article):
"The upcoming series of concerts highlights the uncertainty players have had to contend with for years now, said Jonathan Menkis, a horn player who serves as chairman of the Boston Symphony players’ committee.
'Now, for instance, we have , and we have three different conductors for programs we're bringing to New York, including a conductor this orchestra has never seen,' Menkis said. 'Though [Andris Nelsons'] reputation is terrific, he's going to step in and conduct the Mahler Ninth Symphony sight unseen.'
Asked to describe his mood yesterday, Menkis used the word 'frazzled.'"
The conductor that Menkis referred to, Andris Nelsons, is music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) since 2008. Nelsons is 32 and one of the new generation of young lions among conductors. He doesn't have the media profile of Gustavo Dudamel (age 29), but then no other conductor of that generation does, and not having the continual media glare like Dudamel's on oneself is no bad thing. I've heard a little bit of Nelsons' conducting work with the CBSO from BBC iPlayer broadcasts both from Symphony Hall, Birmingham and from The Proms. It's struck me as talented, but more than a bit flashy at times. But that's OK, since the time for being a flashy conductor is when you're young. I, for one, will be very interested to read the reviews of that concert after it's done in 2 weeks' time.
Whatever one's opinion of Levine, favorable or not, this is obviously no fun for anyone involved, especially as physical pain is not fun to endure, by definition (unless you're a masochist). While it's good that Levine chose finally to fall on his sword, metaphysically speaking, with 20-20 hindsight, maybe at least saying a year ago that he would step down in 2012, at the end of his then-current contract, would have at least given the BSO management time to start the formal search for a new music director. You can read into this protracted saga hubris, denial, or some combination of both on the part of Levine, Levine's manager (Ronald Wilford of Columbia Artists Management), and the BSO. But things have obviously reached a head, with uncertain times to come for the BSO. The orchestra will survive and continue to function, but who their new music director will be.....well, stay tuned in a few years on that. Based on the St. Louis Symphony's similar experience back in 2002, with the sudden resignation of Hans Vonk due to ALS-related symptoms in April 2002 and the eventual hiring of David Robertson in December 2003, my guess is that it'll take at least 18 months of trying out various conductors in guest-conducting gigs, both old faces the BSO has worked with before and some new folks down the line.
From last week, contining this week, and for a few weeks to come, I seem to have returned to my early SNLC roots, obsessing on classical music-related topics, so seemingly pointless with so many other events of import going on now. But then I'm just that kind of guy ;) . You'll note also the "1" in the title, which implies that there'll be a "2" down the line in this series within a series about ailing conductors. If you know the classical music world at all, you can guess the other city which will be involved.
Also, with the new "autobot posting" feature of DK 4.0, I am actually not at my (or a) computer terminal at the moment of posting, so that I won't chit-chat back immediately. I'll reply later when (?) I'm back. So for the moment, you're on your own, kiddies, with the usual SNLC protocol, your loser stories of the week below. Of course, that means that my own loser story this week has a delayed posting.....