I have Levine's Mozart symphony cycle in a nice box on DG. Recorded from 1984-1990. And, I agree, they are terrific.

Levine's Orff Carmina is truly among the best and should have been on this box set.

First box set I ever bought was the RCA Mahler box. Love his Mahler 3 and Mahler 5, real energy and commitment. In particular, the CSO Horns and the tempo of the first movement of the 3rd are more exciting than other recordings I've heard.

... great discussion. Before you mentioned Mozart I was going to say I have his complete Mozart box by DG. True not out-of-this-World in terms of individuality, but the Vienna Phill have warm strings and he let's the music unfold and speak for itself. The bass comes across a little lightly which suits Mozart beautifully. .. in short a lovely sound and I put it on a par with Krips, and Bohm mainly because of that smooth warm violin tone that is unique to the Vienna Phil. Levine is wonderfully consistent and I have come to love this set. I will investigate his Brahms symphonies.

1:24 The little "thingy" on the back of the box is the "bollino SIAE", that is, a special stamp bearing the logo of the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers*, that must be apposed on every physical support containing music (or video) protected by copyright (not just those issued by Universal). * SIAE = Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori

Hey, at least they didn't include his Cage/Carter/Babbitt/Schuller disc. That was a real toe-tapper.

Musically speaking, The recordings are a huge hole in his legacy, and if you size him up with the other conductors of his age and stature (Muti, Barenboim) it’s noticeable and that’s before we get into the criminal behavior. The early opera recordings on RCA in the 70’s are the memorable ones, the Verdi recordings in the 80’s with domingo’s 7th or 8th radames/manrico are decidedly also ran. This DG box could have been summed up in one sentence: “Of all the recordings of (insert piece) that were made, this was certainly one of them.” Thank god they didn’t put that horrible set of Beethoven piano concertos in there with Brendel. Oy. That being said, I think the Missa Solemnis is actually one of the best ones out there, and my theory is that he was far better live (look at the legacy of live video recordings from the Met) than he was in the studio. The singing, especially from the soloists, is the best quartet of soloists anyone assembled for the piece. No tenor has sung “et homo factus est” like Domingo. I think Levine does get the two later fugues in the credo as well as anyone and this was the last recording by one of the Vienna Phil concertmasters at the time (his name escapes me) and the solo in the Benedictus is a real tribute to his legacy.

Really like his DG Berlin Schumann. It could be my favourite Schumann symphony cycle, in fact (not quite as fixated as many are on the Sawallisch Schumann).

Very true David. I tend to prefer his 70’s and 80’s opera recordings where his efficiency nails it. As for the Vienna Brahms cycle it is splendid indeed, but there again Kubelik on Decca with an orchestra in lesser shape grives us more insights into the character of this music.

Talking about conductors' boxes, is there any chance for you to make a video about the three Karl Böhm's boxes in DG? Especially in the case of the complete symphonies of Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart and Schubert, I think it's one of the most exciting boxes I have (and I have quite a lot). Böhm has not perhaps a great musical idiosincrasy but he's always direct, musical and exciting.

I am surprised Levine's original recording with the VPO of Smetana's Ma Vlast is not included in that set. It was very well received when it was first issued and remains a favorite recording of the work for many (including myself).

He was also chief conductor of the Munich philharmonic for a Nano second before going to Boston. Oehms put out a box but I’ve never heard much about it

I liked the quote from the George Szell / John Culshaw interview. Spot on (lol) assessment & I would say that symphonically, Levine's Brahms cycle with the Vienna Phil on DG was probably the best orchestral thing he's done on disc. He came to the Proms in London on a rare visit in 2007 with the Boston Symphony & did Brahms 1. Still a genuine standout performance in my memory.

After looking on Amazon for this disc set I could see a series of photos with the contents of each disk. This set seems to be missing two albums with the MET Orchestra, two Wagner albums. I wonder why these were left out of the box set.

I once heard some of his Mahler 7th and liked it alot.

I got to see him lead the BSO in a Beethoven program.

I always felt I was in great hands at the Met when Levine conducted, especially with Mozart. As you say, he was a great accompanist. The orchestra was splendid and, sometimes, he could even be wonderful. I was always disappointed in his orchestral recordings. They never seemed to catch fire. Maybe I'll give the Brahms a chance.

always had a special love for "Death and Transfiguration" - i find absolutely nothing schlocky or trashy about it - so i have to be angry at you now - ha ha - i can think of very few pieces of music that can rival the sublime majesty of the transfiguration part

That 'Prussian' Sorcerer's Apprentice (heard it once - never again!) brought back a memory of a record review I heard on Radio 3 many moons ago concerning a Levine recording of Ravel's Daphnis (complete) with the Vienna Phil (talk about casting against type!). The reviewer (I no longer remember who it was) summed it up as follows: 'There have been some *good* Austro-German performances of French music over the years, but James Levine's new recording of Ravel's Daphnis & Chloe with the Vienna Philharmonic is.....an Austro-German performance of French music'!

This sounds overly harsh. Levine has delivered what I deem unsurpassed performances of some of the greatest music every written, encompassing very different styles. He might have not imposed on the music he conducted the most unique personality, but any conductor that has left in his legacy recordings such as his Schoenberg's Gurrelieder, Schumann's 2nd, Haydn's Creation, Mahler's 5th and 9th, Verdi's Otello, Brahms' 3rd, Berlioz's Les Troyens, Stravinsky's Petrouchka, Dvorak's 7th, Berg's Violin Concerto... must be counted among the greats. He was a superb accompanist of lieder as well, and his recordings of Die Schöne Müllerin and Winterreise just add further proof of what a magnificent musician he was. How many Conductors can be deemed as authoritative in unfolding an endless Bellini melody as in letting an orchestra tear through Bartok's orchestral masterpieces?

Excellent video with the nail hit 100% on the head

If you think the Schubert 9th in this box is an iffy affair, at LEAST he got rid of one stinker of a mannerism I heard when he did it in Philly in 1980. He slowed down to a screeching halt on the big unison Cs (strings, Bsn, Hrn) near the end of the last mvt....EVERY time.....almost half tempo. Henceforth, Webster's dictionary replaced their definition of tacky with an audio clip of this. Oh well, I also heard him do the Cooke Mahler 10th at with Philly and thought that was wonderful.

Has Levine ever recorded Verdi's Requiem? Could be great repertoire for him.

I personally like Levine’s Sibelius Symphonies 4 & 5 with Berlin. I’m surprised that’s not even in there.

Any comments on Levine's recording of Sibelius 4 with Berlin Phil?

I have a 4 disc DG box of Levine, released for his 60th birthday, and that seems preferable. It has one CD per orchestea: Chicago (Prokofiev 5, Bartok Music for SPC), Berlin (Brahms 1, Mozart 35), Vienna (Sibelius 4, Schoenberg Transfigured Night and Smetana Moldau), MET (Stravinsky Rite, Strauss and Wagner).. That's enough for me, along with his live opera box produced by tbe MET with interesting stuff like Benvenuto Cellini and Wozzeck. Dave, I could never figure out what it was that bothered me about Levine's Sibelius 4 until you provided the key: he plays it like big, old fashioned Brahms. (Which I agree he was superb at.)

A Levine box doesn’t appeal to me for similar reasons. I bought a few of his DG recordings when they were initially released and was underwhelmed enough to stop seeking him out. I remember his Ring recording being a big deal but I preferred older recordings (Bohm Solti etc) That being said, I have not heard many of his offerings on RCA. There is a Daphnis on the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s label that I really enjoyed. I don’t doubt he was a great artist. His batting average on recordings was just low.

What is the greatest recording of James Levine?

I am still rather fond of the Smetana Má Vlast he did with the Vienna Philharmonic -- which didn't make the box. Fine with me...

I agree: Levine's "Das Lied von der Erde" from Berlin with Jessye Norman is a huge disappointment. Even though it's far from perfect, J. Norman was put to much better use on the Colin Davis'/L.S.O. "DLvdE".

Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring by Maestro Levine is excellent, but ... some edits are distracting...unfortunately...

Perhaps many of these Levine recordings should be termed “reference” recordings. Well played and safe. Non objectionable. Perhaps a nice way to learn a score

Personally, I’d have been just fine if Levine had stuck to opera. That’s not to say all of these orchestral interpretations are poor, but I also can’t think of any work where Levine is among my favored recordings. There’s an undefinable quality of depth I find lacking when I try to listen to listen to Levine, and I find his Mahler particularly wanting. I know there are a great many who esteem Levine, so more power and more boxes to them.

As you rightly claim, Levine did his best work in opera. Well, the Met sells a 32 CD box entitled James Levine 40 years at the Met. Why not review that? Also, if you ever decide to do DVDs, there is a 21 disc box with the same title. And I just found out that Levine was conductor of the Munich Philharmonic from 1999 to 2004. You might look into that. Otherwise I tend to agree with you. He was not the most exciting personality around.

Thanks a ton Dave...that was wonderful...funny and unfortunately so true of Levine’s work. Do you think his Mozart cycle is better than Bohm or Mackerras? Also the Krips Marriner combo? I guess Adam Fischer still leads the group in this cycle

Could use a brahms cycle.

The greatness of mr. Levine, the conductor, never really has dawned on me out of exactly the reasons you critically mention in this review, David. I know, that I do not have - and never in this lifetime will acquire - the immense repertoire knowledge of yours, that so impresses, but I have a couple of times in my "Opera club", where we excell in blind guessing, been able to correctly identify mr. Levine as the conductor out of exactly the reasons stated by you. On the other hand, life teaches one a modicum of humility, when you time after time have experienced conductors, that you in general do not care for, turn out splendid performances of special pieces or parts of the repertoire. If I by accident stumble upon the Mozart Brahms or maybe Mahler recordings of mr. Levine, that you positively mention in your review (though not in the box), I intend to give them a try with an open mind, allowing myself to be positively surprised, if so! PS. It might be due to me not being a native speaker, but I assume, that the use of the word "spotty" in your headline for this entry wasn't intended as a somewhat morbid hint to the scandal and the reasons for mr. Levine's demise from the Met (scandalous also for the handling over the years of what seems to have been a well known "secret" in musical circles)? The word 'spotty' tends in this reader's ears to evoke unfortunate connotations to mr. Levine's sad prediliction for 'younger prey'. Teenagers - at least on this side of the Atlantic - almost idiomatically are refered to as "spotty". Might 'patchy' be a somewhat less loaded choice

No, YOU'RE not going to want to get 23 cds of other stuff you don't care about to get that Brahms cycle!

Thanks for making this video, but for every recording in that box set I can think of 10/15 other recordings I'd rather own, listen to or recommend.

The reasons that you list on some of these recordings are the same as why I've never invested in Levine's Ring. I bought Rheingold ages ago, and my opinion of it has always been summed as "sterile" with the occasional manipulated tempos. Even though some new copies have appeared here and there for as low as $6, I've never had the nerve to pull the trigger.

in general..........every time you say James Levine you can say Lorin Maazel................well-executed and yet BORING. One of the slowest and worst Wagner Ring.....