I agree that almost anyone would be better than Ozawa.  I stand by my
opinion of Levine; I find it interesting that Steve Schwartz, who was a
year behind me in high school and thus was weaned, as it were, by George
Szell, dislikes Levine as much as I like him.

I can only statee what I believe.  His previous Mahler 3, his Das Lied,
his Creation, his Beethoven and Brahms were all extraordinary experiences.

But the best of all was his Don Giovanni at Tanglewood last summer. 
For me this is the greatest creation of western civilization, and I had
never heard a live performance worthy of the opera.  For me the only
performance, except perhaps for the Gardiner recording, is the March 8,
1942 Met performance, with Walter conducting, featuring Pinza, Kipnis,
and Sayao.  Here Magnus Kwiczen (spelliing?) was the greatest Don since
Pinza.  That is saying something for me; Pinza's is the single greatest
realization of an opera role I now.  Matthew Polenzani offered a superb
Dalla Sua Pace, and Levine's conducting was every bit as commanding as
Walter's.

In addition I have heard him conduct Mozart a number of times at the Met
over the last 35 years or so.  To say that I have felt blessed is an
understatement.

Allan Kohrman
Newton, MA

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