Jazz
Mark Levine
17 products
Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana / Levine, Domingo, Scotto, National Philharmonic
-- Charles Osborne, BBC Music Magazine
"the Scotto/Domingo set now stands as a first recommnendastion for Mascagni's red-blooded opera, with Domingo giving a heroic accoungt of the rolee of Turiddu, full of deciance...James Levine directs with a splended sensse of pacing..."
-- Penguin Guide [2003/4 Edition]
Verdi: Aida / Levine, Millo, Domingo, Morris, Ramey, Zajick
The conflicting emotions of "Ritorna vincitor" are faithfully delineated, the reflective, elegiac mood of "0 patria mia" perfectly caught, with the final awkward passage managed par excellence. Still better is the instinctively right shading in "La, tra, foreste vergine" in the Act 3 duet with Radames and the poised singing of "0 terra addio" in the finale (although she here fails one dolcissimo test). In these examples the voice is all of a piece and the legato seamless. All this confirms the excellent impression Mil lo made on me when the opera was televized from the Metropolitan a couple of years back, a performance that delighted not a few seasoned buffs. After hearing the whole interpretation, I took down from the shelves some famous prima donne on disc: Millo was shown to be more youthful than Milanov on the Perlea/RCA (but it's that great diva at her best that Millo most potently recalls), more vocally appealing than Tebaldi for Karajan (Decca), more reliable in voice than Callas for Serafin/EMI (though not so unique in accents), more involved and as technically skilled than Price (in her first version on Decca under Solti), fuller in tone than Caballe (Muti/EMI). I wouldn't claim that in every respect Millo is superior to these formidable sopranos or to Giannini on the old HMV set now on Rodolphe/Harmonia Mundi and Pearl, simply that she is at least their peer on this evidence.
Millo is the most urgent reason for acquiring this set, but she is worthily supported by Domingo, offering his fourth and, I would judge, best Radames to date. Try "Celeste Aida", or even better the start of the final scene, to learn how much more refined the great tenor's reading has become. In the latter passage, he sings in a mezza voce he has never attempted in the past; indeed, throughout, the approach is more thoughtful. In forte the voice may be very marginally more stretched than, say, in Muti's 1974 set, still a very strong contender, but the difference is slight. When he is finally gone from the scene, we shall treasure his sterling performances, even if we shall still think in this instance that Pertile (Sabajno), Corelli (Mehta/EMI) and Vickers (Sol ti) are the ones with true Radames voices. By the way, at the end of his aria Levine and Domingo opt for the Toscanini solution—forte high B flat followed by a piano B flat an octave lower.
So much more at home in Verdi than he is in Mozart and Wagner, James Levine conducts a performance that captures the cut and thrust of the public scenes in the first part of the opera and the private anxieties and confrontations of the second. Learning a great deal from Toscanini's reading (RCA), he reveals details of orchestration often overlooked by other conductors though certainly not by Muti. His matching of tempos and general pacing (though some speeds, like that for the final scene, are on the slow side) seem to me well conceived and attentive to the histrionic needs of the well-tried piece. He is supported by the Met orchestra, once more in splendid form. The chorus is, for better and worse, not Italianate, that is to say it is more precise, less wobbly than the choruses on some other versions, but also wanting a shade in pungency.
I shall not be dispensing with my Callas/Serafin set or my Caballe/Muti or the readings headed by Giannini (Sabajno) and Milanov (Perlea), all of which are well-tried, treasurable experiences. But the new contender, which has many similarities with the grandly sung Solti (down to the feeling that one is sitting rather near the brass), deserves to be heard in their company, most of all for its very special Aida.
-- Gramophone [5/1991]
Marlboro Fest 40th Anniversary- Busch: Divertimento; Schubert / Busch, Serkin
Busch: Divertimento for 13 Instruments, recorded 08/1982 in stereo.
Wagner: Der Fliegende Holländer / Levine, Morris, Et Al
-- BBC Music Magazine
V 3: Opernarien 1961-1982
Mahler: Symphony No 1 / Levine, LSO
--David Hurwitz,ClassicsToday.com
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No 6 / James Levine, Chicago Sym Orch
Giordano: Andrea Chénier / Levine, Domingo, Scotto, Milnes
-- Michael Oliver, Gramophone [9/1989]
Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Wagner & Schoenberg: Lieder (Live)
This release explores the field of vocal music, and lieder in particular. The lieder recital no longer seems to be such a self-evident feature of musical life as it once was, but at the Salzburg Festival it always had a special place of its own, and that place has certainly been due in part to the presence of “leading lights” of the music scene. Looking back to the most recent decades, we see that like Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau before her, there was nobody in the Eighties and Nineties who could so captivate the audience at a lieder recital, with a dramatic art and a wealth of vocal resources that defied comparison, as the inimitable Jessye Norman. All who can consider themselves lucky to have caught her in those years, doing what she did best of all, will count themselves equally fortunate – no less than new enthusiasts coming fresh to her work – to discover (or renew acquaintance with) an additional programme by the diva, sensitively accompanied by James Levine, effortlessly superb and impeccably quadrilingual in Richard Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder and – with their high “repertoire value” – the rarity of Schoenberg’s Brettl-Lieder, Viennese rather than modern.
Schubert: Trout Quintet; Mozart: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik / Ax, Guarneri Quartet
"...Recordings of a work like the Trout always have a problem due to the difficulties of balance between piano and a small string ensemble. In this instance the engineers have avoided the pitfalls and have come up with a good balance. A fresh sounding, lively performance appeals with the important piano part played tastefully by Emanuel Ax and a pleasing degree of shading and contrasts from the strings. Good ensemble playing from a highly regarded group... The String Quintet version of Eine Kleine Nachtsmusik makes a welcome second item. More normally heard in a chamber orchestra version, this minimised Mozart (an option from the time of its composition) is a refreshing change. To hear the five lines (two violin parts not a doubling) is a delight, and the 'authentic' movement of recent years must take some credit for the greater appreciation the reduction gives... [An] attractively compiled CD..." -- Harry Downey, MusicWeb International
Brahms: Piano Concerto No 1 / Ax, Levine, Chicago Symphony
Mahler: Symphonies No 1 & 6 / Levine, London Symphony Orchestra
Wagner: Der Fliegende Hollander / Levine, Voigt, Heppner, Morris, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus
Verdi: Luisa Miller / Millo, Levine, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
– BBC Music Magazine
Mozart: The Magic Flute / Levine, Polenzani, Huang, Gunn, Pape
• The Magic Flute has delighted audiences of all ages for centuries. Julie Taymor’s dazzling English-language production brings one of Mozart’s greatest works to life as never before.
• James Levine leads a cast that includes Ying Huang as Pamina in her Met debut, Nathan Gunn, Matthew Polenzani, Erika Miklosa and Rene Papa.
• Taken from the December 30, 2006 live performance.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
