He has taught conducting both at Yale and the Manhattan School of Music. His conducting students have included the American composer Aaron Jay Kernis. Levine maintains current ties to his two alma maters. He serves as a member of the Princeton University Department of Music Advisory Council and has recently been appointed to a fifth term as Fellow of Trumbull College[11] at Yale.
Levine first gained international notice when he became conductor and artistic director of the Kraków Philharmonic in 1987. He was the first American chief conductor of an Eastern European orchestra. His appointment was initially controversial because of the general consensus that Krzysztof Penderecki forced the choice of Levine on the orchestra.[12]
Under his leadership, the orchestra toured Europe, the major concert halls of North America, and the Far East,[13] including the first visit by any Polish orchestra to South Korea. Under Levine, the Kraków Philharmonic also performed for the first time with such soloists as Emanuel Ax, Garrick Ohlsson, and Shlomo Mintz. He concluded his tenure in Kraków in 1993.
Concerts for Pope John Paul II and pontifical knighthood
In 1988, while working in Kraków, Levine met Pope John Paul II, at the latter's invitation. The Pope subsequently asked Levine to conduct the concert commemorating the 10th anniversary of his Pontificate.[14] This concert was originally broadcast by RAI, Italian television, and throughout Europe via Eurovision. It was subsequently broadcast and re-broadcast on Public Television in the U.S. over the next 17 years.
In 1993, Levine conducted for the Pope at World Youth Day in Denver. That program included the first performances of works by Bernstein, Barber, and Copland at any Papal event, and was televised worldwide.[14]
In 1998, Levine led members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and, with the special permission of Pope John Paul II, the ancient Capella Giulia Choir of St. Peter's Basilica, in concerts to commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the founding of Mission San Luis Rey in California. These concerts constituted the first visit of this 500-year-old choir to the Western Hemisphere, and were broadcast on NPR's "Performance Today".[16]
Other Papal concerts at the Vatican directed by Levine included the first of two concerts celebrating the Catholic Church's Grand Jubilee in 2000 with the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Philharmonia Chorus performing parts one and two of Haydn's The Creation[17] Levine conducted a 2003 televised musical celebration of the 25th anniversary of Pope John Paul II's pontificate with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in Saint Peter's Basilica, a concert which aired on American Broadcasting Company (ABC).
Over the years of his relationship with John Paul II, Levine became known as "the Pope's Maestro." In 1994, for his services to the Pope and to the Vatican, he was invested as a Knight Commander of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (KCSG), the highest Papal knighthood accorded to a non-ecclesiastical musician since Mozart.[20]
Upon John Paul II's death, Levine called him a friend and "an incredible sustenance for me.[21]" In 2005, Levine conducted a memorial concert for the Pontiff, which was broadcast on PBS. That same year, Pope John Paul II's successor, Pope Benedict XVI, honoured Levine with the Silver Star of the Order of St. Gregory the Great (KC*SG), the highest papal distinction received by a Jew in the history of the Vatican.[22]
In the same year, Levine led the LPO and London Philharmonic Choir in televised performances of excerpts of Górecki's Third Symphony and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony from Kraków, during the city's reign as the European Capital of Culture. On this occasion, Levine received the Kraków Gold Medallion from the city president, in recognition of his services to Kraków's cultural life.
From 2004 to 2006, Levine led the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in a series of concerts called "Music for the Spirit," which included a 2004 performance of the Verdi Requiem.,[28] a January 2006 concert to commemorate the 100th anniversary of St. Paul's Cathedral in Pittsburgh of Haydn's The Creation, and a June 2006 concert of Gustav Mahler's Third Symphony.
In July 2005, Levine led the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Choir in the first complete performance of Beethoven Missa Solemnis in Cologne Cathedral. The performance was broadcast throughout Europe and North America. The international quartet of soloists included American tenor Jerry Hadley in his last televised concert performance.
In November of that same year, Levine directed the Orchestra of Saint Luke's and the Morgan State University Choir in a concert entitled "Rejoice in this Land", which included Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and the world premiere of Washington Speaks by Richard Danielpour, with Ted Koppel as narrator. The performance was broadcast throughout the United States both on terrestrial radio in major cities and on XM Satellite Radio.
On January 14, 1992, Levine was interviewed by Studs Terkel on his WFMT (Chicago) nationally syndicated radio broadcast. Levine's recording of the Shostakovich Suite from The Golden Age, with the Krakow Philharmonic, was the featured work on that program.[38]
In 2009, TVN (Poland) broadcast a 30-minute biographical documentary on Levine entitled "The Pope’s Maestro".[39] The film dealt with his life and career, from the arrival of his family in New York from Warsaw in the early years of the 20th Century, to his studies at The Juilliard School, his life and work in Kraków under communism, and his concerts for Pope John Paul II.
Levine's memoir, The Pope’s Maestro, was published by Jossey-Bass, a Wiley Imprint, in October 2010,[40] and in Polish translation in 2012 under the title Papieski Maestro by Wydawnictwo Świat Książki.[41]Publishers Weekly wrote of The Pope's Maestro, "Not all books are worth writing; this one assuredly is, because it tells how peace can happen, one heart at a time."
In 2017, the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University commissioned a video profile of Sir Gilbert Levine. The profile was produced by Angel Gardner and filmed and edited by Zohar Lavi-Hasson.[43]
Personal life
Levine is married to Dr. Vera Kalina-Levine. They have two children, David (b. 1984) and Gabriel (b.1991)
Television concerts
Levine's television-aired concert performances have included the following:
1988: "A Musical Offering from the Vatican". Orchestra of RAI/Roma, Choirs of RAI, Kraków Philharmonic and Warsaw Philharmonic. Brahms "Ave Maria", Penderecki "Stabat Mater:, Dvořák Mass in D. Original broadcaster: RAI/Roma/European Broadcast Union. PBS broadcast as "A Musical Offering from the Vatican: A Papal Concert" (1992). Released on VHS by View Video
2000: "Jubilee Creation". Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus. Haydn: The Creation. US broadcast by Maryland Public Broadcasting/PBS
2000: Concert for the 80th Birthday of His Holiness Pope John Paul II. Haydn: The Creation. Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus. Original broadcaster: RAI/EBU.
2004: "Papal Concert of Reconciliation". Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, London Philharmonic Choir, Kraków Philharmonic Choir, Ankara Polyphonic Choir. Harbison "Abraham" (World Premiere), MahlerSecond Symphony (First, Fourth, and Fifth Movements) --Original broadcaster: RAI/EBU. US broadcast by WQED (Pittsburgh). Released on DVD by WQED Multimedia Pittsburgh
2008: "From Heart to Heart: Beethoven’s Plea for Peace" . "Missa Solemnis" from Cologne Cathedral. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Choir. Soloists: Bożena Harasimowicz, Monica Groop, Jerry Hadley, Franz-Josef Selig. Co-production of WDR/Köln and Peter Rosen Productions, Inc. Original broadcaster: WQED Multimedia/Pittsburgh and American Public Television (APT).
2010: “Music of Majestic Spirit”. Anton Bruckner: Symphony 9 and “Te Deum” from Cologne Cathedral. WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, WDR Rundfunkchor Köln, NDR Chor (Hamburg). Soloists: Anja Harteros, Liliana Nikiteanu, Christian Elsner, Franz-Josef Selig. Co-production of WDR/Köln and Peter Rosen Productions, Inc. Original Broadcaster: WQED Multimedia/Pittsburgh. Released on DVD by WQED/Multimedia.
2012: “Out of Many, One - a Musical Offering from Chicago - in the Spirit of John Paul”. Bogurodzica, Edward. T. Cone: Psalm 91 (1948), J.S. Bach: Magnificat in D BWV 243, Beethoven: Symphony 3, “Eroica”. Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Chorus; Soloists: Amanda Majeski, Sara Mingardo, Antonio Poli, John Relyea; Co-Production: Peter Rosen Productions, D2 Digital. Original broadcaster: WTTW/Chicago
2015: "A Celebration of Peace Through Music". Copland Fanfare for the Common Man, Verdi Messa da Requiem (Sanctus), Gorecki Totus Tuus, Bernstein Chichester Psalms, Brahms First Symphony. Orchestra of St. Luke's, Krakow Philharmonic Choir, Choral Arts Society of Washington, Theodore Nisbett, Boy Solo. Director: Janos S. Darvas; Producers: Dennis Obrien - D2 Digital, Claudia Groh. WETA (APT). Released on DVD by Kino Lorber.[47][48][49][50][51][52]
A Celebration of Peace Through Music: Copland Fanfare for the Common Man, Verdi Messa da Requiem (Sanctus), Gorecki Totus Tuus, Bernstein Chichester Psalms, Brahms First Symphony. Orchestra of St. Luke's, Krakow Philharmonic Choir, Choral Arts Society of Washington, Theodore Nisbett, Boy Solo. (Delos Productions)[54]
↑ " Anton Bruckner: Sinfonie Nr. 9 d-Moll und Te Deum" (www.3sat.de/dynamic/sitegen/bin/sitegen.php?tab=2&source=/music/107598/index.html) (in German). Retrieved 2009-03-03
↑ Angel Gardner & Zohar Lavi-Hasson. Sir Gilbert Levine '71 (Video). Princeton University. Archived from the original on March 16, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
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