Gilbert Levine
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| Sir Gilbert Levine | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Gilbert Levine | |
| Born | January 22, 1948 | |
| Origin | Brooklyn, New York | |
| Occupation(s) | Conductor | |
American conductor Sir Gilbert Levine has led a uniquely distinguished international career. He has conducted world-class orchestras in the concert hall and on international television both in Europe and North America, and made history along the way.
Maestro Levine has enjoyed an important collaboration with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He made his PSO debut in 2004, conducting the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh in Mahler’s Symphony II, both in their home, Heinz Hall, and in the historic “Papal Concert of Reconciliaiton” at the Vatican in presence of His Holiness Pope John Paul II. Sir Gilbert returned to Heinz Hall in July 2004 to lead the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Mendelssohn Choir in a standing room only performance of the Verdi Requiem. In January 2006, he led both these esteemed ensembles in Haydn's "Creation" to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of Saint Paul Cathedral, and he returns to Heinz Hall in June 2006 with the Pittsburgh Symphony for Mahler Symphony III.
In November 2005, Sir Gilbert lead the Orchestra of Saint Luke’s and the Morgan State University Choir in a performance of Beethoven’s IX at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, in Washington, D.C. That national concert, entitled “Rejoice in this Land” was broadcast throughout the United States both on terrestrial radio in major cities, and on XM Satellite Radio, as well.
Since 1997 Maestro Levine has worked with three of the premier orchestras in London—the Royal Philharmonic, the Philharmonia Orchestra and the London Philharmonic—on projects involving tours, recordings and television. With the London Philharmonic he has captured a huge audience via PBS television in the United States in repeated broadcasts of the Beethoven Ninth Symphony, released for European Broadcast by Europe Images (Paris), and, most recently, conducting Verdi and Mozart on ABC’s Good Morning America, a historic first for that program. With the LPO he has also recorded a CD of Wagner Orchestral Excerpts including selections from Tristan und Isolde, Tannhauser and Parsifal, recently broadcast on syndicated radio nationwide in the United States.
With the Philharmonia Orchestra, Sir Gilbert toured the U.S. and Europe as Artistic Director and Conductor of Haydn’s The Creation in the Philharmonia’s Millennium Creation Series 2000. Two concerts from this series were broadcast on television: in Europe, live from the Vatican, via RAI and the European Broadcast Union and, a separate production, for PBS in the United States, live from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Baltimore.
With the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Maestro Levine received extraordinary critical acclaim for his Telarc of the Tchaikovsky Third Symphony with the American Record Guide stating, “There cannot be a more beautiful recording” and the London Times giving its “Three Star Highest Rating.” This past summer, Sir Gilbert conducted the RPO, the London Philharmonic Choir and a cast of internationally renowned soloists, in a performance of Beethoven’s “Missa Solemnis” which critics called “a sovereign and highly disciplined interpretation”. This performance was televised by WDR/3Sat throughout Europe, and was released in the Fall of 2005 on a much anticipated DVD by Arthaus Video/Leipzig, distributed by BMG/Sony.
Maestro Levine opened the 2002-03 Montreal Symphony season in a sold-out Beethoven and Brahms concert, and led the Dresden Staatskapelle, the world’s oldest orchestra, and the Munich Bach Choir, in the Brahms Requiem on international television, a concert commemorating the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
Elsewhere, he has been a guest conductor with many of the world’s major orchestras. On this side of the Atlantic he has led the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Toronto Symphony, Seattle Symphony and the Baltimore Symphony. In Europe, he has conducted the RSO Berlin, the Norddeutsche Rundfunk/ Hamburg and the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bayerischer Staatsorchester,the Danish National Orchestra, New Stockholm Chamber Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, Israel Chamber Orchestra and the Jerusalem Symphony.
The New York -born conductor first captured the international spotlight when he was named Artistic Director/Principal Conductor of the Kraków Philharmonic in 1987, the first American to head an East European Orchestra. He enhanced the orchestra’s reputation with acclaimed tours of Europe, the Far East, and, in 1993, of the major concert halls of North America, including Avery Fisher Hall, the Kennedy Center, Severance Hall, Symphony Hall, Boston and Orchestra Hall, Chicago.
Educated at Juilliard, Princeton, and Yale, Gilbert Levine also studied in Europe with famed pedagogue Nadia Boulanger in France and with conductor Franco Ferrara in Italy. Early in his career, he served as assistant to Sir Georg Solti for symphonic and operatic projects in London and Paris, and enjoyed a singular relationship as protégé of the eminent German conductor Klaus Tennstedt, with whom he worked in a similar capacity, both in Europe and North America.
On television Sir Gilbert Levine has been featured on many occasions, both as a news subject and in concert. A major profile of him, entitled “The Pope’s Maestro”, appeared on the distinguished CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes, while other stories about him have been featured on such programs as CBS Evening News, CBS Sunday Morning (profiled by Eugenia Zukerman), ABC World News Tonight and ABC Nightline with Ted Koppel, as well as on both Larry King Live and The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, on CNN. He is also a frequent guest on National Public Radio on such programs as Symphony Cast, Performance Today and All Things Considered.
For such telecasts as the legendary “Papal Concert to Commemorate the Holocaust”, telecast in 22 countries, and a series of brilliant collaborations involving concerts, recordings and international telecasts supporting Pope John Paul II’s tireless efforts toward better understanding among peoples of all faiths, Maestro Levine earned a Knighthood, bestowed by the Pope, who invested him as a Pontifical Knight- Commander of the Equestrian Order of St. Gregory, the highest honor accorded a non-ecclesiastical musician in more than 200 years. In the Fall of 2005, Sir Gilbert received the Silver Star of the Order of Saint Gregory, a further Pontifical honor, bestowed this time by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. Among other honors accorded Maestro Levine is the Millennium Gold Medallion of the City Of Kraków, awarded Sir Gilbert in 2000 for his decade-long artistic contributions to Poland’s historic cultural capitol.
Other recordings by Maestro Levine include the Arabesque CD of music by Benjamin Britten with the English Chamber Orchestra and soprano Elisabeth Soderstrom, which was described as “spectacular” in The New York Times and was their “Pick of the Week” selection for several weeks running. He has recorded a Shostakovitch album with the Kraków Philharmonic and pianist Garrick Ohlsson, and, [[Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition]], recorded live with the RSO Orchestra of Berlin, newly released this fall on Capriccio and distributed by EMI.
In 2005, following on the success of the “Papal Concert of Reconciliaiton” Sir Gilbert Levine began a collaboration with WQED-Multimedia in Pittsburgh called “Concerts of Music and Spirit”. This fall, saw the first national broadcast in this new series. Entitled “Crossing the Bridge of Faiths: In Memoriam Pope John Paul II,” it featured the Sachsische Staatskapelle Dresden and the Munich Bach Choir in performances of Henryk Gorecki's Totus Tuus and Brahms' Requiem. It was re-broadcast nationally this spring. Next upcoming in this series will be the Beethoven: Missa Solemnis with the Royal Philharmonic and the London Philharmonic Choir in a version created by Sir Gilbert especially for the American television audience. In June 2007, Maestro Levine will lead the WDR Orchestra and Chorus and the NDR Chorus in the Bruckner 9th Symphony and “Te Deum”, also for European and American television broadcast.
Maestro Levine is also active in the commissioning of new works. With the Pittsburgh Symphony, he initiated the commission of “Abraham” a sacred motet by the pulitzer-prize winning composer John Harbison, which received its world-premiere at the “Papal Concert of Reconciliaiton” in Rome in 2004 and receives its American premiere in Heinz Hall this June. This past fall 2005, Sir Gilbert commissioned American composer Richard Danielpour to write “Washington Speaks”, for the Orchestra of Saint Luke’s and narrator Ted Koppel, setting texts of George Washington on the subject of religious liberty. Both commissions were sponsored by the Knights of Columbus.
