Bernard Chasan responds to Roger Hecht: >>Better a lot of people than Jimmy "The Hut". (Fabulous nickname. >>Congratulations.) Just heard a rather dull Mahler 3 from Jimmy, though >>two caveats. 1) I heard it over the radio, and 2) I'm told the previous >>night's was better. What I heard was the Friday matinee. > >I attended the Saturday evening performance of the Mahler Third and >found it anything but dull. I also fail to see what is so fabulous about >Schwartz's' nicknane for Levine, "jimmy the Hut". Moment of weakness, I must confess. It's the kind of thing I'd have never thought of, creatively speaking, and it just grabbed me. >In truth Levine does not cut a graceful figure on the podium, but what >does that have to do with his conducting abilities? It actually might affect them, just as being out of shape makes playing an instrument hard to do. Playing and conducting music is a physical enterprise, and physical condition is important. I readily admit that I have never been fond of Levine as a conductor. In his young days, he seemed brilliant, but too often a slasher. Now he seems to be a "slow" conductor, for example turning Nabucco into Parsifal. I found his Ives Second beautiful but lacking energy. (It died, but died beautifully, was my comment at the time.) His Schoenberg Pelleas waswell thought out but lacking color and distinction--very disappointing. Too bad because it discouraged me from going to his Gurrelieder, which I heard was quite good. Of course, I have to admit that because I feel as I do, I haven't followed his career much at Boston, so who knows what I'm missing. Returning to the question of physical conditioning, I realize that conductors aren't Olympic athletes, but I don't considir it beyond the realm of possibility that Levine's condition has affected his conducting. Roger Hecht *********************************************** The CLASSICAL mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's HDMail High Deliverability Mailer for reliable, lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html