In celebration of James Levine’s 60th birthday, Deutsche Grammophon has assembled a handsome collection of the conductor’s recordings featuring the four orchestras with which he was primarily associated. The program is arranged by ensemble onto four generously filled CDs. Disc 1 presents the Chicago Symphony in a rather disappointing traversal of Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5, where Levine seems oddly disconnected from the music and takes little advantage of the opportunities afforded him either by Prokofiev’s colorful score or by the magnificent ensemble under his command. The music seems to run along on autopilot, especially the great first-movement coda, which makes virtually no impact owing to its lack of adequate percussion. Bartók’s Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta finds the conductor more involved, generating real tension in the second and third movements; but as a whole the reading sounds quite ordinary next to Boulez’s gripping performance with the same orchestra (also on DG).
Things pick up with Disc 2, which features the Vienna Philharmonic in a bracing reading of Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 (the first movement goes at a refreshingly brisk pace, while the slow movement features some gorgeous string playing). Mozart’s Haffner symphony is (not surprisingly) well played, but here Levine’s strict, unbending tempos and literal observance of repeats ultimately leads to a decidedly dull reading. Thankfully, Smetana’s sizzling Bartered Bride overture, rendered with joyful abandon by the Vienna players, brings the disc to an upbeat close.
Disc 3 returns to the 20th century as Levine leads the Berlin Philharmonic in compelling accounts of Sibelius’ Fourth Symphony and Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht. Both feature polished and richly sonorous playing though they lack the austere gloom (Sibelius) and sumptuous passion (Schoenberg) Karajan found in this music with the same orchestra. Karajan’s magnificent Webern Six Pieces for Orchestra faces no competition whatsoever from Levine, whose unkempt, tape-edit-ridden rendition finds the Berlin players in poor form.
Best of all is Disc 4, showcasing the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in spectacularly played performances of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring (with marvelous punctuated rhythms and arresting brass), Strauss’ Death and Transfiguration (a finely proportioned and emotionally involving reading), and Wagner’s Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde (the Met strings sing radiantly at the close). The recordings, all made during the 1990s, sound fine in the present edition, and for the most part they are reflective of their various recording locales (except the Chicago Prokofiev, which disappointingly lacks bass).
Levine also made many fine recordings in the 1970s with the London Symphony, Chicago, and Philadelphia Orchestras for RCA, and it is these that represent his freshest and most compelling work. But, as you’ll likely have trouble finding most of those RCA recordings, this DG set will have to do. While it may not contain many first choice versions, it does offer a broad overview of Levine’s current art outside of the opera house, and for the novice collector it provides an affordable way to get acquainted with much great music.
