In Sunday’s (2/22) Boston Globe, Jeremy A. Eichler writes that Boston Symphony Orchestra Music Director James Levine just gave his final scheduled performance of the season with the ensemble. “This much-heralded partnership between eminent American conductor and major American orchestra has now reached the mile-marker of five seasons and Levine’s initial contract has recently been extended until 2012, making it a ripe moment to reflect on a basic question: How is it going? Overall, the sonic flourishing of the orchestra under Levine’s baton is unmistakable. Big ensembles are not wholly transformed in five years, nor can any longstanding symphonic legacy be erected so quickly. But Levine and the BSO have grown toward each other, and this venerable ensemble … is clearly changing for the better. … Eighteen new players have joined the orchestra since Levine was named music director designate in 2001, and several have retired. With its renovated sound, its broadening repertoire, and its possession of enough [Elliott] Carter … to take over a whole concert in last summer’s Festival of Contemporary Music, the BSO is now very much Levine’s orchestra. It will be fascinating to see where this partnership goes in the next few years, and whether Levine is able to weave together the various threads of the first five seasons in bold new ways.”
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