James levine conductor biography examples

James Levine was not a great man with a single tragic flaw.

He was an almost completely horrible person, with a single, tragic talent.

Ever since I heard the news, I’ve had a voice on one shoulder screaming “don’t write about James Levine.” And on the other shoulder, another voice is saying “write about James Levine.”

First, I don’t want to hurt or offend the many dear friends and colleagues close to me who admired him. Cincinnati, which is like a musical second home to me, was Levine’s home town. His mentor was the first violinist in the LaSalle Quartet, Walter Levin – I studied with the quartet’s second violinist and cellist.  Many people I love and admire loved and respected Levine. I am sorry if this post causes them hurt or offence.

But, here I am, writing about James Levine.

Part One – “Stories about James Levine”

Everyone in the classical music business over the last forty years has heard the phrase “the stories about James Levine.”

Here are two stories which might not be quite what you think of when you hear that phrase.

A friend of mine was, for a time, producer and engineer of the radio broadcasts of the orchestra at Verbier when Levine was conducting regularly there. As is the case with the broadcasts of most festivals and orchestras, where there is more than one performance, either the producer or a member of the musical staff (at the Cincinnati Symphony it was usually one of us on the junior conducting staff who had been in the audience for all the performances) will select what they think are the best options and run those by the maestro before the ‘broadcast performance’ is edited together.

The situation my friend found himself working with Levine in was truly bizarre. At the end of each run of performances he would go to the maestro’s office. There he would see Levine and his brother Tom. My friend was not allowed to speak to Levine directly, but would say to Tom something like “I thought the first movement wa

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The first I knew there was something amiss was when a record company PR told me that James Levine had been rushed to Heathrow airport that morning, abandoning an Abbey Road recording of a Mahler symphony.

Word went around the orchestra that he had been arrested for ‘cottaging’ – approaching men in a public lavatory – but that a deal had been struck not to press charges if he left the country. The police, when I checked, said they had no record of the arrest since no charges had been brought. I heard of a similar incident in Switzerland, also unverifiable. Years later, when he was music director at the Verbier Festival, male musicians in their teens told me he asked them to go to his room and made them feel generally uncomfortable.

After he was sacked by the Met, the cellist Lynn Harrell was among those who spoke out about his abuse of young musicians.

He had no need to take risks in New York, where his brother Tom acted as bodyguard and cover for his activities. Where his needs grew intolerable was at the Metropolitan Opera itself where two young males told me they had been shut out of his circle after refusing his advances. When the music director refuses to meet your eye, you have no future in an opera company.

At the Met, Levine’s word was law. ‘What Jimmy wants, Jimmy gets,’ was the motto. He avoided personal conflict, leaving others to sack or sideline those he wanted dismissed.

Board members and general managers kept him away from the media. In rare interviews he would only discuss musical matters.

Those who knew him said he had little else in his life. There was not much intellectual curiosity or conversation. In recent years, he would be seen dining at a private club where rich men brought their young prey. Levine was always alone.

He was a fanstastic musician who saw the world in musical terms. He depended on his agent Ronald Wilford t

American composer and member of Remote Control Productions

This article is about the composer. For the conductor and pianist, see James Levine.

James Scott Levine (born 1974) is an American composer and member of Remote Control Productions. He has won seven BMI awards and seven ASCAP awards. His credits include the films Running with Scissors, Delta Farce, and The Weather Man, and the television shows Nip/Tuck, Glee, The Closer, Rizzoli & Isles, and American Horror Story. He has also provided additional music for films such as Madagascar, Pearl Harbor, and Something's Gotta Give.

Early life

James Levine grew up in Medford, Massachusetts, where he played multiple instruments in various genres. The main instrument he played growing up was the piano, performing at multiple events growing up. At the age of 13 Levine shifted his focus from playing the piano, to learning Jazz, as well as improvisation. Composers that Levine looked up to when he was younger were Mozart, Morricone and James Newton Howard. He is of Jewish heritage.

Levine attended Tufts University, where he was originally a pre-med student. However he switched subject areas, and subsequently in college Levine studied Sociology and Musicology, and got his degree in American Studies. He graduated from Tufts in 1996.

Career

Levine came to Hollywood in 1997 to begin his career as a composer, leaving behind money and family. He first started off his career by doing intern work around Los Angeles.

James Levine is a composer for shows like American Horror Story, Glee, Nip/Tuck, Royal Pains and The Closer.

The music for American Horror Story is one of his most known works, receiving many awards such as the Best Music in a Series, Best music in a non-series, and has been nominated for outstanding sound mixing for television movies and mini

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