
Keeping time:
James Levine and the Boston Symphony Orchestra
April 1972
28-year-old James Levine makes his conducting debut with the BSO in performances of Mozart's Symphony No. 35, Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, and Ravel's orchestration of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition."
November 1994
First return to Symphony Hall since a 1978 concert series, to conduct Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde"
October 2001
Named BSO music director designate.
Oct. 22, 2004
Symphony Hall debut as the BSO's 14th music director, the first American-born conductor to hold that position. The performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 8, the "Symphony of a Thousand," is followed by a gala dinner for more than 800 at the Fairmont Copley Plaza hotel.
Jan. 13, 2005
World premiere of Milton Babbitt's "Concerti for Orchestra," a work the BSO commissioned, and the first piece by Babbitt ever performed by the orchestra.
January 2006
First concerts of the "Beethoven-Schoenberg project," which continued through two seasons juxtaposing works by two of music's revolutionaries.
March 1, 2006
Levine trips and falls onstage after a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, injuring his shoulder and requiring a months-long sabbatical to recuperate.
Dec. 19, 2006
Release of the first Levine-BSO CDs, with mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson singing "Neruda Songs" recorded in concert just months before her death. The recording wins the Grammy Award in 2008 for Best Classical Vocal Recording.
July 28, 2007
A rousing concert performance of Verdi's "Don Carlo" at Tanglewood showcases Levine's investment in the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra and Vocal Fellows.
August 2007
Levine and orchestra embark on their first joint European tour.
April-May 2008
Performances of Berlioz's epic opera "Les Troyens" end the Symphony Hall season.
July 6, 2008
After opening the Tanglewood season with another "Les Troyens" performance, Levine abruptly leaves for New York, where he has emergency surgery to remove a cancerous kidney. He misses the remainder of the summer season.
July 20-24, 2008
Tanglewood Music Center dedicates its entire five-day Festival of Contemporary Music to the works of Elliott Carter in honor of the composer's centenary. Levine serves as festival director but misses the event as he recovers from surgery.
Sept. 24, 2008
Levine returns to conduct the opening of the 2008-09 BSO season, with all-Russian standards by Glinka, Tchaikovsky, and Mussorgsky.
Dec. 11, 2008
On Carter's 100th birthday, Levine and the BSO (with Daniel Barenboim as piano soloist) perform a new Carter work in Carnegie Hall.
Feb. 19, 2009
Release of the first Levine-BSO recordings on BSO Classics label: Ravel's complete "Daphnis and Chloé" and Brahms's "A German Requiem" in live performances. Also released for download only are Mahler's Symphony No. 6, William Bolcom's Eighth Symphony, and Bolcom's "Lyric Concerto."
Feb. 21, 2009
Final scheduled performance of Levine's fifth season in Symphony Hall. His contract has been extended through the 2011-12 season.
October 2, 2010
Levine returns to the podium after seven months recuperating
February 25, 2011
Levine's brother, Tom Levine, tells the Globe that the maestro may have to reduce his workload.
March 2, 2011
James Levine resigns as music director of the BSO effective Sept. 1.
March 2, 2010
The BSO announces Levine will miss the rest of the season due to back problems.